The Australian sharemarket closed marginally lower on Friday with only one sector avoiding a loss and ending the week providing no broad-based capital gains.
The S&P/ASX 200 finished 9.10 points or 0.11% down at 8,580.10, dropping from the day’s high of 8,619.8 soon after opening to the low of 8,568.2 around lunchtime, erasing the losses gradually through the afternoon before weakening again to the close.
The market index has lost 0.27% this week, leaving it 0.68% below its record high of 8,630 points on 11 June.
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)'s main price marker was shielded from larger losses by the materials index, which closed 1.78% higher, as miners gained ground, led by Iluka Resources, which surged 22.11%, Lynus Rare Earths (16.28%) and Mineral Resources (7.408%).
The remaining 10 sectors finished down, headed by real estate investment trusts (REITs) which fell 1.45% as Abacus Storage King lost 3.27%, Growthpoint Properties 2.9% and Lend Lease 2.4%.
A higher finish on Wall Street had set the scene for a stronger opening with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ending at new highs, buoyed by a bullish forecast from Delta Air Lines and a record close by NVIDIA.
ASX futures indicated a 27-point lift on the ASX opening but after a brief rise market-wide selling ensued in 10 of the 11 sectors.
On the fixed interest markets, yields rose 0.51% to 4.333% on Australian Government 10-year bonds and 0.03% to 3.403% on two-year bonds.
