Australian shares fell on Thursday as investors reacted to the latest US inflation data.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.23%, or by 20.90 points, to close at 9,188.50.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq gained 0.5%. The US consumer price index data was in line with expectations, tamping down expectations of near-term Federal Reserve rate hikes.

Brent crude futures ​fell to trade around $88 per barrel, with no signs of any movement in negotiations between Iran and the US on resolving the conflict.

In company news, ANZ Group Holdings (ASX:ANZ, NZE:ANZ) logged AU$1.901 billion in cash profit for fiscal Q3, up 2% from a year ago. For the three months ended June 30, operating income was AU$5.607 billion, down 1%.

Cleanaway Waste Management (ASX:CWY) received a conditional, non-binding indicative proposal from EQT Infrastructure to acquire all of the company's shares through a scheme of arrangement at AU$3.13 apiece. The board agreed to give EQT Infrastructure nine weeks of exclusive due diligence and negotiate a scheme implementation deed to agree a binding transaction. Its shares rose 14% earlier in the session.

Lastly, Telstra Group (ASX:TLS) logged AU$0.204 in underlying EPS for fiscal 2026, compared with AU$0.191 a year ago. For the 12 months ended June 30, total income was AU$23.41 billion versus AU$23.61 billion previously.