The local share market has finished pretty much where it began the day, after a highly anticipated earnings report from the world's largest company failed to re-ignite sentiment.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Thursday finished 3.3 points lower at 8,323.0, a drop of 0.04 per cent, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 12.1 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 8,567.0.
The day began with AI chipmaker Nvidia announcing it had made $US35 billion in third-quarter revenue - up 94 per cent from a year ago and better than the $US33 billion analysts had predicted - but its stock still slumped in after-hours trading.
Tiger Brokers Australia chief strategy officer Greg Boland said "all eyes" had been on Nvidia, whose earnings are seen as a bellwether to gauge if the AI craze is proven or overblown.
The report had disappointed some lofty expectations, Mr Boland said.
IG analyst Tony Sycamore noted Nvidia had also predicted its fourth-quarter revenue growth would drop to 70 per cent, from an astonishing 265 per cent growth a year ago.
"While this doesn’t signal the end of the bull market for Nvidia, it does indicate the pace of gains are set to slow," Mr Sycamore wrote.
Moomoo analyst Jessica Amir said the true test of what traders thought of Nvidia's earnings report would come Thursday night, Australia time, when US markets reopened.
"If we do see a sell-off it will probably be very short-lived, with investors pouncing on any dip as it seems Nvidia’s long-term bullish case is intact," Ms Amir said.
"And perhaps it’s just warming up."
Five of the ASX's 11 sectors finished lower and four ended higher, with materials/mining and industrials flat.
Consumer discretionary shares were the biggest mover, down 0.8 per cent as Kmart owner Wesfarmers dropped 1.4 per cent and WEB Travel Group dipped 4.2 per cent.
Accent Group slumped 11.9 per cent to a month-and-a-half low of $2.23 as chairman David Gordon told the footwear retailer's annual general meeting same-store sales were up 3.5 per cent in the first 20 weeks of 2024/25, but its gross profit margin was down 0.7 per cent due to promotional activity.
Three of the four big banks were higher, with ANZ up 0.2 per cent to $32.25, Westpac growing 1.5 per cent to $33.54 and NAB expanding 0.5 per cent to $39.51.
CBA was the outlier, dropping 0.1 per cent to $156.24.
Elsewhere in the sector, GQG Partners plunged 19.3 per cent to an eight-month low of $2.13 after the boutique investment fund manager said it was monitoring US bribery charges brought against India's Adani Group, which GQG has a nearly 20 per cent stake in.
"Our team is reviewing the emerging details and determining what, if any, actions for our portfolios are appropriate," GQG said.
In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP was down 0.7 per cent to $39.81 but Fortescue had climbed 2.0 per cent to $18.11 and Rio Tinto had added 0.5 per cent to $116.44.
In currency, the Australian dollar was buying 65.20 US cents, from 65.23 US cents at Wednesday's ASX close.
In cryptocurrency, bitcoin had hit another all-time high, changing hands at $US97,100, or $A148,700 on Australian exchanges.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Thursday down 3.3 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 8,323.0
* The broader All Ordinaries dropped 12.1 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 8,567.0
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 65.20 US cents, from 65.23 US cents at Wednesday's ASX close
* 100.80 Japanese yen, from 101.21 Japanese yen
* 61.78 euro cents, from 61.61 euro cents
* 51.51 British pence, from 51.42 pence
* 110.94 NZ cents, from 110.49 NZ cents.
