The S&P/ASX200 slipped 12.3 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 8,831.4, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 9.1 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 9102.
"Australian shares were muted on Thursday, slipping from a record high hit in the previous session as losses in financials weighed (-0.3 per cent), while investors remained cautious awaiting monetary policy decisions from central banks in Australia and the US in the near term," CommSec chief economist Ryan Felsman said.
NAB and CBA finished the day down roughly half a per cent, while ANZ and Westpac eked out modest gains.
Five of 11 local sectors closed in the red by the close.
Health care stocks were heavy, losing 1.2 per cent as CSL (-1.5 per cent), Sigma Healthcare (-1.0 per cent) and Resmed (-2.1 per cent) sold off.
Consumer discretionary stocks outperformed the broader market, gaining 0.9 per cent with strong performances from Bunnings owner Wesfarmers, up 0.7 per cent to $89.52, and gambling machine company Aristocrat Leisure, which gained 1.5 per cent to $71.38.
Australian IT stocks also showed strength, gaining 0.4 per cent after a strong lead from the US tech sector overnight.Â
Local miners were mixed, with large caps BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto edging lower as iron ore prices ran into resistance, but broader risk sentiment lifted gold prices, helping push local miners and the materials sector into the green.
Westgold Resources was the top-200's best performer with a 5.1 per cent rally, followed by financial service group AMP, which bounced 4.8 per cent after disappointing first-half earnings gave way to an optimistic second-half outlook from Swiss investment giant UBS.
At the other end of the leaderboard was bourse operator ASX Limited, which plummeted 8.6 per cent to $6.06 in its worst daily performance in more than 15 years.
The slump followed a takeover announcement tagging snafu involving TPG Telecom and TPG Capital - a private equity firm not listed on the local exchange - prompting a selloff that wiped more than five per cent from the telco's value.
A day later, TPG shares have only recovered 0.8 per cent to trade at $5.26.
The exchange operator is already facing an inquiry by the corporate watchdog into governance issues and its aging settlements system, and federal treasurer Jim Chalmers has expressed support for breaking up the operator's monopoly to let US giant Cboe Global Markets list companies in Australia.
Turning to energy stocks, trade was muted with a 0.2 per cent gain, tracking with a small uptick in the oil price following surprisingly robust US demand figures and potential Ukraine peace talks.
Coal producers showed continued strength, with Yancoal up 0.9 per cent and posting a fourth-straight session of gains.
On currencies, a higher-than-expected trade surplus helped the Aussie dollar push higher to 65.24 US cents, up from 64.88 US cents at Wednesday's ASX close.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Thursday lost 12.3 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 8,831.4
* The broader All Ordinaries edged 9.1 points lower, or 0.10 per cent, to 9102
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 65.24 US cents, from 64.90 US cents on Wednesday
* 95.81 Japanese yen, from 95.76 Japanese yen
* 55.87 euro cents, from 56.05 euro cents
* 48.78 British pence, from 48.79 British pence
* 109.53 NZ cents, from 109.66 NZ cents
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