Adrian Black
Updated ,first published
Australia’s sharemarket has wiped most of the week’s gains in two sessions, as a rising greenback and global growth concerns dragged metals prices lower.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 82.4 points on Friday, down 0.92 per cent, to 8828.7, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 79.5 points, or 0.87 per cent, to 9047.3.
The top 200 scraped a gain of less than 0.3 per cent for the week, after a four-day rally on the US-Iran peace deal disintegrated from Thursday as tumbling metals prices hammered local miners.
Only the energy sector, health care companies and consumer-facing stocks ended the week’s final session higher.
“It’s that fall in the mining sector that’s making the difference on the market, because without that, we’d be very close to square on the day,” Moomoo market strategist Michael McCarthy said.
“Having said that, volumes are weak, and so I think we probably could find this as not a panic, but rather a buyers’ strike on the day.”
BHP shares tanked by 5.6 per cent in their worst session since April 2025, after it announced a write-down at its Canadian Jansen potash project.
Rio Tinto and Fortescue also suffered, as iron ore prices lingered at 15-week lows and copper prices eased.
Gold sank to $US4144 ($5912) an ounce, dragging its local sub-index 3.8 per cent underwater with it.
Financials eased less than 0.1 per cent on Friday, but ended the five sessions 1.4 per cent higher, locking in a second week of gains after broadly selling off since April.
Commonwealth Bank announced two high-powered technology appointments, which it said reflected the scale of its tech plans. CBA said Victoria Ledda will be chief information officer and Rodrigo Castillo has been appointed chief technology officer. The two executives both already work for CBA.
Energy stocks tumbled more than 7 per cent since Monday, with oil prices finally succumbing to gravity as the US and Iran inked their preliminary peace deal.
The sector (and crude) gained ground on Friday, after further peace talks between the two nations in Switzerland were called off, raising questions about the truce.
Healthcare stocks outperformed for the session and the week, the defensive segment benefiting from risk-off positioning and offering value after plummeting by roughly 50 per cent since August.
Biotechnology giant CSL led the charge, its shares surging more than 7 per cent in its best day in more than four years.
In company news, SkyCity Entertainment soared more than 14 per cent after it paid $21 million for anti-money laundering breaches at its Adelaide Casino.
Defence technology firm Electro Optic Systems traded more than 14 per cent higher after winning a $US124 million ($A177 million) contract with UAE defence group Generation 5.
The Aussie dollar was buying US70.12¢, down from US70.38¢ on Thursday, as the greenback strength index sailed to 13-month highs as bets narrowed on incoming US interest rate hikes.
Wall Street rebounded overnight, with its reversal powered by sharp gains for big technology companies. The decline on Wednesday was driven by anticipation that the Federal Reserve will probably raise interest rates this year in an effort to fight inflation.
The S&P 500 rose 1.1 per cent, the Dow Jones rose 0.1 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.9 per cent. Every major index notched weekly gains.
Higher oil prices have been weighing on markets throughout the US war with Iran. The current deal between the nations waives sanctions against Iran and allows it to sell its oil freely. It also opens up the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil supply is shipped.
“While investors are welcoming the agreement as a constructive step for geopolitical risk, uncertainty remains elevated around potential flare-ups, the pace of shipping normalisation, control of the waterway, the cost of access and the path forward for Iran’s nuclear program,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial, in a research note.
Technology stocks had some of the biggest gains and the most influence on the broader market’s rise. Intel surged 10.6 per cent after US President Donald Trump announced that the semiconductor giant will make chips for Apple in the US. Other big semiconductor companies gained ground. Nvidia rose 3 per cent and Micron Technology jumped 8.7 per cent.
On the losing end, SpaceX fell for the second straight day since its ballyhooed debut on the US sharemarket last week. The Elon Musk-led rocket maker and AI company was down 3.6 per cent following a 4.9 per cent loss Wednesday.
Airlines had some of the bigger gains. American Airlines rose 3.7 per cent and United Airlines rose 2.1 per cent. Cruise line company Carnival jumped 3.2 per cent.
Energy companies lost ground. Exxon Mobil fell 2.1 per cent and Chevron fell 2.2 per cent.
with AP, Bloomberg
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
