Australian shares retreat as inflation comes in hot

The broader All Ordinaries lost 2.4 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 8,629.1.

Rallies in energy and IT stocks weren't enough to counteract profit-taking in banks and a mining sell-off as metals prices softened against a stronger US dollar.

Hotter-than-expected consumer price index figures showed the Reserve Bank's preferred trimmed-mean inflation measure rose to 2.8 per cent year-on-year in April from 2.7 per cent in March, which could impact the speed and size of future interest rate cuts.

The Aussie dollar is buying 64.71 US cents, down from 64.33 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm.

The greenback has rebounded on improving US consumer confidence and hopes of strong tech earnings this week.