The Australian sharemarket ended lower on Friday as investors reacted to a fresh deluge of corporate earnings following a negative session for United States markets overnight.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 26.60 points, or 0.32%, to close at 8,296.2, marking a five-week low and falling 3% for the week.
Consumer discretionary and telecommunications stocks led the declines, with six of 11 sectors finishing in the red.
A weak profit and sales forecast from U.S. retail giant Walmart weighed on market sentiment, with Wesfarmers falling 1.9%, Aristocrat Leisure down 1.2% and Tabcorp slipping 2.2%.
Financials were also sold off, with Commonwealth Bank declining 2.6%, Westpac down 0.6%, NAB easing 0.1%, and ANZ dropping 1.4%.
Miners also experienced a strong session with Rio Tinto and BHP up 2.8% apiece while Fortescue gained 2.3%.
Among local reporting companies, Guzman y Gomez slumped 14.3% after the company posted a sizeable drop in sales for its U.S. business. Despite this, the food retailer said it expects to exceed its full-year profit forecasts in 2025.
Meanwhile, insurers and healthcare stocks outperformed. QBE climbed 3% after posting a 31% increase in net profit after tax (NPAT) to US$1.78 billion (A$2.28 billion).
Telix Pharmaceuticals surged 13.8% following strong 2024 earnings.
Spark New Zealand tumbled 19.3% after lowering its 2025 earnings outlook due to underperformance in its enterprise and government divisions.
In corporate news, Domain soared 40.1% after real estate giant CoStar launched a bid to acquire the property platform.
The takeover offer also boosted shares in Domain's parent company, Nine Entertainment, which jumped 20.1%, while competitor REA Group fell shed 11.4%.
On the bond markets, the 10-year and two-year yields were steady at 4.519% and 3.914%, respectively.
