Australia’s share market has fallen for a fourth straight session, as a second day of strikes between the US and Iran hammered hopes of a permanent peace deal and painted a grim picture for global inflation prospects.

The S&P/ASX200 fell 22.6 points on Thursday, down 0.26 per cent to 8,762.5, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 18 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,961.3.

The US military has launched attacks on Iran in retaliation for drone strikes on three container ships earlier in the week, prompting Iran to hit back at targets in Kuwait and Bahrain, which are home to US military bases.

Resurgent crude prices supported oil, gas and refinery stocks, and although the raw materials sector tumbled to its lowest value since April, there were positive signs in other segments.

Australia’s share market was ultimately looking more cautious than fragile, Vantage senior market analyst Hebe Chen said.

“Under the surface, the market is holding up better than the headline move suggests,” Ms Chen told AAP.

“Eight of the 11 sectors are still higher, led by energy, technology and utilities, showing investors are not rushing for the exits.”

A rebound in the heavyweight financials sector helped limit the losses, with an initial 1.3 per cent dive narrowed to less than 0.2 per cent by the close.

A 3.3 per cent tumble in Rio Tinto shares to $158.52 loomed large in the materials segment as Morgan Stanley cut its price target to $149 due to concerns about the aluminium market.

Gold miners were also heavy, despite the precious metal firming to $US4,104 ($A5,909) an ounce during the session, staging a modest rebound from resurgent global inflation fears.

Northern Star was the best of the larger ASX-listed gold miners, down 0.9 per cent after appointing former Perseus boss Jeff Quartermaine to its board as an independent non-executive director.

In company news, FDC Consolidated Holdings rocketed more than 12 per cent higher to $3.37 on its ASX debut, after the construction and fit-out group listed at $3 per share in a $400 million initial public offering, the biggest so far in 2026.

Fletcher Building shares surged more than 7.5 per cent after it hiked its 2026 full-year earnings guidance by more than six per cent to between $400 million and $403 million.

Telstra rebounded 1.2 per cent to $4.98, after tumbling almost three per cent in the wake of Wednesday’s major outage.

The Australian dollar is buying 69.39 US cents, up from 69.33 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm.

ON THE ASX:

* The S&P/ASX200 fell 22.6 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 8,762.5

* The broader All Ordinaries lost 18 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8,961.3

One Australian dollar trades for:

* 69.39 US cents, from 69.33 US cents at 5pm AEST on Wednesday

* 112.63 Japanese yen, from 112.49 Japanese yen

* 60.65 euro cents, from 60.70 euro cents

* 51.69 British pence, from 51.89 pence

* 121.11 NZ cents, from 121.45 NZ cents