The Australian share market ended Friday lower, rounding out the week broadly flat as upbeat sentiment from cooling inflation was offset by escalating trade tensions triggered by United States President Donald Trump.
Regional markets were rattled by Trump’s latest tariff announcement, which increased levies on Canadian imports from 25% to 35% and imposed a base tariff of 10% on all other global imports.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 80.8 points or 0.9% to 8,662.0, with losses across 10 of the 11 industry sectors. For the week, the index finished just 0.1% lower.
Locally, technology stocks led the declines. Xero lost 3.5%, Life360 fell 3%, and WiseTech Global dropped 2.6%.
Healthcare shares also pulled back, with CSL and Pro Medicus falling 2.5% apiece, and Cochlear finishing 1.9% lower.
Financials contributed to the drag, as Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac declined 1.6%, 1.2%, and 1.1%, respectively.
Among individual companies, Star Entertainment plunged 16.4% to a fresh record low of 52-week low of 9.2 cents after its plan to sell the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane development to Hong Kong-based joint venture partners collapsed.
The company will now have to invest heavily to complete the project, repay $41 million to its partners, and shoulder nearly $1 billion in debt.
ResMed climbed 1% after beating fourth-quarter earnings estimates, supported by strong demand for its sleep apnoea products. The company also forecast better-than-expected gross margin improvements in the year ahead.
Washington H. Soul Pattinson dipped 0.6% after it forecast its FY25 preliminary net asset value (pre-tax) between $12.18 billion and $12.68 billion. The company also declared a fully franked final dividend of 59 cents per share.
Battery materials firm Novonix reversed early gains to close 4.4% lower after cancelling plans to spin off its graphite assets through an IPO of Axon Graphite, citing weak market conditions.
Small-cap Locksley Resources soared 33.3% after securing $5.3 million through an oversubscribed placement with Tribeca Investment as a cornerstone investor. The miner also revealed a renewed focus on high-grade antimony and rare earths at its Mojave project in California.
On the bond markets, 10-year and 2-year yields were 0.8% and 0.1% higher at 4.318% and 3.393%, respectively.
