The Australian sharemarket closed little changed on Friday, with gains in miners and banks balancing losses among healthcare stocks after the White House unveiled fresh tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index edged up 14.70 points or 0.17% to 8,787.7, and ending the week 0.16% higher. Only four of the 11 sectors finished higher.
Major miners rose, with Rio Tinto up 1.2% and BHP gaining 1.3%, supported by stronger commodity prices.
Silver producers also surged as the spot prices reached a 14-year high, with Silver Mines jumped 5.7%, Andean Silver climbed 4.3% and Unico Silver surged 17.1%.
The big four banks also contributed to the market’s resilience. Commonwealth Bank and Westpac lifted 0.7% apiece, National Australia Bank gained 1%, while ANZ ticked up 0.2%.
By contrast, Utilities were among the weakest performers, with Origin Energy down 2.7%, APA Group slipping 0.2% and Infratil retreating 2.2%.
Healthcare stocks also fell sharply after the United States administration announced a 100% tariff on imports of branded or patented pharmaceutical products from 1 October, unless manufacturers build plants in the U.S.
CSL dropped 1.9%, while Telix Pharmaceuticals shed 3.5% and Pro Medicus fell 2.4%. Dual-listed Mesoblast also declined 3.6%. despite confirming their products were exempt from the new tariffs.
In company news, Vulcan Energy soared 15.6% after signing a $179 million contract with a consortium of Turboden and ROM Technik to develop and build a geothermal power plant near Landau, Germany.
IperionX shares also gained, rising 6.1% after receiving an additional US$25 million (A$38.2 million) award from the U.S. Department of Defense to boost critical minerals production.
On the bond markets, yields were steady, with 10-year rates holding at 4.4% and 2-year rates at 3.536%.
