ASX 200 ends slightly lower, posts second straight weekly fall
Australia's ASX 200 fell 25 points, or 0.3%, to 9,059 on Friday, with healthcare, tech, logistics, and commercial services dragging the index and the week ending down 0.6%.
Australia's ASX 200 shed 25 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 9,059 on Friday, unwinding the prior session’s gains as healthcare, tech, logistics, and commercial services dragged.
Nerves sharpened ahead of July inflation data due next week, after June’s print eased marginally yet still above the Reserve Bank’s target band.
Governor Michele Bullock recently warned that inflation remains elevated, flagging upside risks from commodity volatility tied to Middle East conflict.
Still, stronger U.S. stock futures capped the weakness after Wall Street fell sharply Thursday amid higher Treasury yields.
Tech names tracked Wall Street’s peers, with Wisetech Global (-2.1%) and Nextdc (-1.3%) lower.
Goodman Group (-5.5%), Wesfarmers (-2.8%), and Sonic Healthcare (-2.0%) also lagged, while the big four banks pared losses to end mixed.
Bucking the trend, Guzman Y Gomez soared 11.5% after reporting a 29.7% profit jump.
For the week, local markets slipped 0.6%, marking their second straight weekly fall.