The Australian sharemarket retraced early gains to trade lower on Friday, despite a surge on Wall Street overnight, driven by rising expectations that United States interest rates would remain unchanged this month.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 14.20 points, or 0.16%, to 9,005.9, despite six of the 11 sectors trading higher.
For the week, the index dipped 1%.
The Energy sector led declines, with Ampol and Viva Energy trading ex-dividend, falling 6% and 3.8%, respectively.
Woodside Energy fell 1.2%, while Santos lost 0.9%.
The Materials sector also declined, with major miners mixed. BHP fell 2.4%, and Rio Tinto lost 0.7%, while Fortescue gained 1.6%.
Gold producers were mostly higher, with Evolution Mining adding 0.7%, Newmont gaining 1.9% and Bellevue Gold rising 3.3%.
The Financial sector was mixed. Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank eased 0.1% each, Westpac added 0.1%, and ANZ declined 0.2%.
Among individual movers, Nine Entertainment led declines, falling 8.5% after the company disclosed that the aggregate economic interest in the company held by Bruce Gordon’s WIN Group had increased from 28.22% to 31.18%, while its voting power had risen from 22.98% to 25.94%.
Peter Warren Automotive Holdings added 3.2% after receiving conditional approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for its acquisition of Wakeling Automotive Group’s new-car dealerships.
On the bond markets, the 10-year yield rose 0.2% to 5.15%, while the two-year rate fell 0.8% to 4.771%.
