The Australian sharemarket ended the last day of the week lower with most industry sectors finishing down after an early rally.
The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 23.20 points or 0.27% to 8,515.70 as seven of the 11 sectors ended in the red on Friday, led by technology stocks.
The index opened at 8,538.9 points and rose to a peak of 8,555.60 before easing through the afternoon to call time at the day’s low.
James Hardie (ASX: JHX) led the ASX 200 gainers with a 3.5% rise, continuing a recovery from the savaging received in response to its US$8.7 billion acquisition of AZEK Company in March and its plan to move its listing from the ASX to the New York Stock Exchange.
EBR Systems (ASX: EBR) closed six cents (5.41%) higher at $1.17 after it announced the first commercial implants in the United States of its cardiac resynchronisation therapy system.
Coronada Global Resources (ASX: CRN) ended 1.7 cents (10.3%) stronger at 18 cents after it announced a change in coal supply arrangements that would provide it with US$150 million of ‘near term liquidity.’
The tone for the ASX had been set in New York overnight with the three U.S. major stock indices closing lower as a high level political row overshadowed potentially positive trade news and economic data which raises questions about the U.S. economy.
The escalating feud between President Donald Trump and his billionaire former adviser Elon Musk sent shares in Musk's electric vehicle maker (EV) Telsa diving on Thursday (Friday AEST) and undermined investor confidence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25%, the S&P 500 declined 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.8% although the Dow and S&P recovered a little in futures trading after the closing bell.
Earlier, Trump said his discussion with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday about trade had "a very positive conclusion" and they would hold face-to-face talks in their respective countries.
The market is looking forward to non-farm payroll figures on Friday to provide more information about the state of the U.S. economy following weak jobs data and about the prospects for more interest rate reductions.
The Australian dollar was quoted 0.11% lower on the day at US$0.64977 at 4:50 pm AEST (6:50 am GMT), slimming the gains this year to 5%.
In the fixed interest market, yields closed flat on 10-year Australian Government bonds at 4.273% and 0.21% higher on two-year paper at 3.337%.
