This article was automatically generated by Dow Jones using technology from Automated Insights.

Stocks in Australia slipped during early trading Thursday, as the S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index declined 0.8% to 8716.70.

Among local companies with a market cap of at least 15 billion Australian dollars ($10.42 billion), Pro Medicus is the biggest early laggard, falling 2.7%, followed by shares of Suncorp Group, which declined 2.6%. Shares of Aristocrat Leisure dropped 2.0%.

BHP Group is the biggest leader this morning, rising 0.8%, and REA Group climbed 0.1%.

The U.S dollar held steady against the Australian dollar at 1.44 Australian dollars.

In the bond markets, the 10-year Australian government bond yield rose 6.46 basis points to 5.418%.

Data source: Dow Jones Market Data, FactSet