Australian shares extended losses early afternoon after Chinese data failed to convince investors of the robustness of the Asian giant’s economy, hitting commodity stocks even harder.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.9 per cent, or 73.6 points, to 8282.3, away from a record closing peak of 8355.9 in the previous session.

All 11 sectors were flashing red. Utilities was the biggest laggard, dragged by a close to 6 per cent slump in APA Group after its main shareholder, Unisuper, sold a massive $500 million block trade after Thursday’s closing bell.

In commodities, mining giant BHP receded 1.7 per cent, Rio Tinto retreated 0.6 per cent and Fortescue lost 1.5 per cent following a tumble in iron ore prices in the previous session.

Flight Centre Travel Group lost the most on the index, down 20 per cent in the worst one-day drop since the onset of the pandemic after a “vague” trading update disappointed investors looking for explicit numbers.

Harvey Norman retreated 1.2 per cent after losing a case against the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for misleading ads that promoted “no deposit” and “interest-free” payments without saying a Mastercard was needed to access the offer.

The major banks were mixed, with ANZ down 0.6 per cent and Commonwealth Bank up 0.2 per cent.

Gold miners were among the rare winners after the price of the precious metal broke a fresh all-time high above $US2700 in Asian trading hours. De Grey Mining jumped 2.3 per cent and Bellevue Gold rallied 1.8 per cent.

Stocks on the move

Regal Partners eased 1.3 per cent on news that South Korea’s financial regulator has indicted the fund over breaches of the nation’s short-selling laws.

Beach Energy lifted 2 per cent after a trading update.

Telix Pharmaceuticals jumped 3.4 per cent on plans to list American Deposit Shares on the Nasdaq.

Charter Hall Retail REIT lost 1.5 per cent after sweetening its takeover bid with Hostplus for Hotel Property Investments to $3.85 a share, up from $3.65.