Australian stocks fell 39 points, or 0.4%, to 9,170 in early trading on Thursday, extending losses from the prior session as U.S. equity futures edged lower after Wall Street ended mostly higher overnight amid a slight slowdown in U.S. July CPI data and strong earnings reports from chip shares. Local markets notched their lowest level in a week, with domestic inflation concerns remaining despite a slight easing in June, keeping investors cautious after the Reserve Bank held rates steady at 4.35% earlier this week but left the door open for further tightening following three hikes this year. Sector-wise, communications, consumer durables, retail, and transport weighed on sentiment, while industrial services and tech offered some support. Commonwealth Bank dropped more than 2%, contrasting with gains in the other three majors. Insurance Australia Group tumbled 5.5%, with Transurban (-2.7%), Telstra (-2.6%), and Scentre (-2.3%) also among notable laggards.