Australian shares closed modestly lower on Friday, as investors remained cautious while monitoring diplomatic developments between the United States and Iran.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 8.1 points or 0.1% to 8,946.9, with six of the 11 sectors finishing in negative territory.
Over the week, the benchmark index posted a decline of 0.2%, snapping three weeks of consecutive gains.
The Consumer Discretionary sector led losses, with JB Hi-Fi down 0.5%, Domino’s Pizza Enterprises falling 1.4%, and Wesfarmers declining 1.6%.
The Energy sector also came under pressure as oil prices eased amid rising expectations of diplomatic progress in the Middle East.
Woodside Energy fell 0.2%, Beach Energy lost 1.6%, and Ampol recorded losses of 0.8%.
Financials weighed on the broader index, with the major banks finishing in a mixed fashion. Commonwealth Bank ticked up 0.1%, National Australia Bank lost 2%, ANZ Banking Group added 0.5%, and Westpac Banking Corporation fell 0.7%.
In the Materials sector, gold miners retreated, with Northern Star Resources down 2.2%, Evolution Mining falling 2%, and Newmont Corporation down 0.5%.
However, the major diversified miners provided some support; Rio Tinto added 0.7%, Fortescue gained 1.2%, while BHP Group finished flat.
In corporate developments, consumer lender Zip surged 13.7% after upgrading its full-year earnings guidance.
Paladin Energy gained 2.8% after lifting its full-year production guidance for the Langer Heinrich uranium mine, citing a stronger-than-expected ramp-up in output through the first nine months of the year.
In contrast, Alcoa fell 3.7%, tracking weakness on Wall Street after the aluminium producer reported first-quarter revenue of US$3.2 billion, missing market expectations of $3.28 billion.
On the bond markets, 10-year and 2-year rates were down 0.1% and 0.4% to 4.998% and 4.669%, respectively.
