The Australian sharemarket declined on Wednesday afternoon, dragged lower by a sell-off in commodity stocks amidst a busy day of corporate results. The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 29.6 points, or 0.4%, to 8044.4 by mid afternoon, with energy, materials, and communication services sectors weighing on the market.

Energy stocks led the losses after a 2% drop in crude oil prices, despite a slight rebound on Wednesday. Woodside Energy declined 1.2%, Santos dropped 0.7%, Paladin Energy lost 4%, and Boss Energy fell 3%. Iron ore prices also impacted major miners, with BHP down 1.9%, Rio Tinto losing 1.5%, and Fortescue Metals sliding 2% despite reporting a strong profit and a 16% dividend increase.

In contrast, Woolworths shares rose 3.4% after announcing a special dividend, while Flight Centre and Kelsian saw gains following strong earnings reports. Tabcorp shares plummeted 12.9% after its CEO warned of missed targets and significant asset write-downs.