Around midday AEDT on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 49.9 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 8,300.4, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 49.9 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 8,549.5.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting last month released overnight didn't shed much new light on the US central bank's thinking.
Closer to home, the Australian Bureau of Statistics disclosed that retail sales rose 0.8 per cent in November, up from 0.5 per cent in October, but beneath consensus expectations of a 1.0 per cent jump.
Ben Udy, lead economist for Oxford Economics Australia, said the growing popularity of Black Friday sales had made it difficult to get a read on the underlying strength of consumption from the data, as the rise in November would likely be offset by a contraction in December.
But the 1.5 per cent rise at cafes and restaurants did suggest a lift in spending outside Black Friday sales, and overall this week's data showed inflation was easing while the labour market remained tight and consumption appeared solid, Mr Udy said.
"This provides a mixed picture for the RBA in February, but we still expect the bank will hold off cutting rates until at least May," he said.
Every sector of the ASX was in the red at midday, with energy the biggest loser, dropping 1.4 per cent as Brent crude fell to a six-day low of $US75.73 a barrel on a buildup of inventories.
Woodside was down 1.4 per cent, Santos had slipped 1.3 per cent and Whitehaven Coal had fallen 1.8 per cent.
In the mining sector, Westgold had fallen 11.4 per cent to $2.59, after the goldminer reported a lift in production following its takeover of Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Karora Resources.
Other goldminers were mostly higher as the precious metal changed hands for $US2,659 an ounce, with Northern Star up 3.4 per cent and Newmont advancing 2.7 per cent.
Elsewhere in the sector, BHP was down 1.0 per cent, Rio Tinto had added 0.2 per cent and Fortescue had climbed 0.4 per cent.
Star Entertainment Group had plunged 24.4 per cent to an all-time low of 14.75 cents after the casino operator disclosed it had just $79 million left in available cash after burning through $107 million in the past three months.
All of the big four banks were lower, with CBA down 1.0 per cent, ANZ falling 0.9 per cent, Westpac slipping 0.4 per cent and NAB dipping 0.3 per cent. But Macquarie had gained 1.5 per cent.
The Australian dollar had dropped to a one-week low against the greenback, buying 62.02 US cents, from 62.31 US cents at close of business on Wednesday.
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