SYDNEY, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The Australian share market fell by 1.3 percent in early trading on Thursday as oil prices continued to rise amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was trading at 8,629 points within 40 minutes of trade opening at 10 a.m Australian Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday (2300 GMT on Wednesday), a fall of 1.3 percent from 8,743.5 points at the close on Wednesday.
The Australian Financial Review reported that energy was the sole sector to make gains on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on Thursday morning as oil prices jumped despite the International Energy Agency's decision to release 400 million barrels to ease supply and curb prices.
Australia's biggest gas and oil producer, Woodside Energy, was trading 1.7 percent higher on the ASX on Thursday morning, while Santos was up 1.6 percent.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported earlier on Thursday that the market was expecting the S&P/ASX 200 to fall by 0.5 percent in early trading. ■
