At 10:30 (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 22.80 points or 0.33 percent at 6,976.00, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 17.00 points or 0.23 percent at 7,233.30.
"The ASX 200 eased 0.01 percent lower in opening trade, placing the market on track to end a five-day run of gains for the benchmark which has taken it close to a new record high," Financial Review writer Richard Henderson said.
U.S. sharemarkets rose on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Powell said the central bank has the tools to curb any inflation pressures. The Dow Jones index closed up by 0.20 percent. The S&P 500 index gained 0.40 percent to a record closing high. And the Nasdaq index lifted 1.00 percent.
In the financial space, the big banks sank with Commonwealth Bank down (0.43 percent), National Australia Bank down (0.64 percent), Westpac Bank down (0.80 percent) and ANZ down (0.66 percent).
Mining stocks were mixed with BHP down (1.45 percent), Rio Tinto down (0.50 percent), Fortescue Metals up (0.19 percent), but goldminer Newcrest up (0.15 percent).
The country's oil and gas producers dropped with Oil Search down (1.45 percent), Santos down (0.98 percent) and Woodside Petroleum down (1.15 percent).
Australia's largest supermarkets sank with Coles down (0.82 percent), and Woolworths down (2.16 percent).
Meanwhile, telecommunications giant Telstra was down (0.15 percent), the national carrier Qantas was down (0.19 percent) and biomedical firm CSL was up (0.01 percent).
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