Australian shares fell to a four-month low on Friday, with the benchmark extending weekly losses as investors grappled with rising energy costs and a more hawkish global interest rate outlook.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 69.4 points, or 0.8%, to 8,428.4, with six of the 11 sectors finishing in negative territory.
The index finished down 2.2% for the week, marking a third consecutive weekly decline.
The sell-off comes as markets reprice the outlook for domestic monetary policy, following firm signals from the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England.
Materials stocks led the declines, with BHP falling 1.8%, Rio Tinto dropping 2.9%, and Fortescue Metals Group easing 0.4%.
Gold miners also came under pressure after bullion recorded its sharpest weekly fall since March 2020, driven by rising inflation and diminishing expectations for interest rate cuts.
Northern Star Resources lost 2.4%, Newmont fell 2.6%, while Evolution Mining added 1.6%.
The Energy sector posted modest gains despite a pullback in oil prices. Brent crude fell 2.5% to US$106.60 per barrel after Benjamin Netanyahu signalled Israel would refrain from further attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure.
Among local names, Santos slipped 0.5%, Woodside Energy rose 1%, Beach Energy declined 1.2%, and Ampol gained 0.4%.
In company news, Premier Investments fell 4.3% lower after reporting a mixed first-half performance, as stronger-than-expected results from Peter Alexander were offset by a double-digit sales decline at Smiggle amid a strategic reset.
Electro Optic Systems finished 2.6% despite confirming that chief executive Andreas Schwer had sold 1.5 million shares, though the company said no further sales are planned.
On the bond markets, yields moved higher, with the 10-year rate rising 0.4% to 5.028% and the 2-year yield climbing 1.9% to 4.79%.
