Australian shares snapped a five-session winning streak to edge lower on Thursday as traders locked in profits from a strong first week of the new year.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 0.2 per cent, or 19.9 points, lower at 8329.2 points on Thursday. The Australian dollar slipped 0.3 per cent to trade at US61.98¢. Ten of 11 sectors on the index reported losses in a broad sell-off led by industrial stocks. Utilities was the only sector to push higher, buoyed by Origin Energy, which rose 1.2 per cent to $11.13.

Australia’s big banks and miners sold off on Thursday. Commonwealth Bank closed 0.6 per cent lower at $158.79 – after topping a 1 per cent gain on Wednesday – and ANZ closed 0.5 per cent lower at $29.37. Iron ore miner Fortescue rose 1.9 per cent to $17.91 after it was heavily sold off the previous day.

November retail sales, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday, undercut economists’ expectations – rising less than 1 per cent – stoking concerns among traders about consumer sentiment. Sales rose 0.8 per cent, up from 0.5 per cent growth in October.

Nonetheless, Australia’s retail sector was “not completely out of the woods yet”, said AMP economist My Bui. “Keep in mind that these improvements were from a very low base … It is worth waiting for December data to gauge the true momentum of the consumption recovery.”

Stocks in focus

In corporate news, Star Entertainment lost a third of its value, closing down 33.3 per cent at 13¢. The embattled casino operator warned late on Thursday it had just $79 million left in cash and was facing challenges fulfilling the conditions of a $100 million loan facility.

Arcadium Lithium enjoyed the biggest gain. The stock closed up 8 per cent at $9.13 after a US national security and trade committee gave the green light to its proposed acquisition by Rio Tinto, which also rose 0.5 per cent to $116.45.

Computershare fell 3.4 per cent to $33.58 after analysts at UBS and Macquarie downgraded their outlook for the stock. The share registry provider had surged 30 per cent in the two months since the US election.

Lovisa slid 10.5 per cent to $26.75 after UBS downgraded the discount jewellery retailer to a “sell” rating, pointing to its modest rate of store growth in recent times.

Platinum Asset Management reported $289 million of outflows from its funds in December, sending shares 1.4 per cent lower to 70¢.

Avita Medical fell 13.1 per cent to $3.05, adding to a 19.3 per cent decline in the previous session after the company admitted it would miss revenue forecasts.