The Australian sharemarket has closed slightly weaker, snapping a 10-day winning streak, after markets in the US fell.
At 4.15pm AEDT, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index had fallen 17.9 points, or 0.37 per cent, at 4878.8 points, and the broader All Ordinaries index was off 18.1 points, or 0.37 per cent, at 4901.0 points.
On the ASX 24, the March share price index futures contract was 16 points lower at 4844 points, with 32,011 contracts traded, according to preliminary calculations.
On Wall Street in the US yesterday, markets closed modestly lower after data showed the US economy unexpectedly shrank in the last quarter of 2012, and the US Federal Reserve maintained its loose monetary policy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 44.77 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 13,909.65 points.
OptionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said the US economic data had set the Australian market off on the wrong foot today.
Mr Le Brun also said a fall in the shares of supermarket operator Woolworths had weighed upon the consumer staples sector.
"It's just a bit of a pause for reflection today," Mr Le Brun said.
"It was just a bridge too far to make it 11 (market rises) out of 11 (trading sessions)."
Mr Le Brun said that despite the slightly lower market on Thursday, momentum was still on the upside given that the market had bounced off 4906 points twice in the past couple of sessions.
"That's just proved to be a little bit of a glass ceiling for the market to get on top of at this stage." he said.
Woolworths fell 41c, or 1.3 per cent, to $31.24 after reporting that supermarket sales rose by 3.2 per cent.
In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton fell 14c at $37.48, and Rio Tinto fell 76c to $66.36.
Whitehaven Coal fell 19c, or 5.48 per cent, to $3.28 after it warned first-half earnings and profit would fall due to operational issues, weak coal markets and the high Australian dollar.
Origin Energy rose 14c at $12.59 as it reported that production was steady in the three months to December and all maintenance work planned for the financial year was complete.
Among the major banks, National Australia Bank fell 28c to $27.36, Westpac fell 13c to $28.04, Commonwealth Bank fell 25c to $64.45, and ANZ was steady at $26.58.
Among other stocks, biotech Pharmaxis plunged 57c, or 45.6 per cent, to 68c after its cystic fibrosis treatment received a negative review from advisers to regulators in the US.
Explosives and mining chemicals supplier Orica fell 14c to $25.63 as it said it was on track to meet its guidance on financial performance despite a drop in its specialty bolts and injectable chemicals business.
Australia's largest cattle producer, Australian Agricultural Company, fell 3.5c to $1.215, after it made an $8.4 million loss in 2012 due to the impact of a suspension of live exports.
Virgin Australia nudged up 0.5c to 43c after its $98m plan to buy regional airline Skywest was given the go-ahead by the competition watchdog.
Preliminary national turnover was 1.7 billion securities worth $4.51 billion.
