Australian shares closed lower on Thursday as a handful of underwhelming corporate reports and a shift in sentiment overnight in the US and Europe weighed on local blue chips.

The S&P/ASX 200 edged 1.2 per cent lower, wiping 85.1 points from the benchmark, which closed with 6961.8 points. The decline dents a steady rise in share prices that has slowly built over the past two months and dragged the index to below 7000 points for the first time in a fortnight.

The S&P All Ordinaries index, which covers more than twice the number of companies compared to the S&P/ASX 200, shed 88 points to close with 7199.2 points, also 1.2 per cent fewer than the prior session.

The drop in share prices reflected disappointing results for a group of companies that reported 2022 financial year results on Tuesday.

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