After strong gains throughout the week, investors have calmed, with the bourse closing only slightly higher on Friday.
“I think we’ve got a little bit of exhaustion today,” CMC Markets chief market strategist Michael McCarthy told AAP.
“It’s been a very strong performance (throughout the week), and given that there’s no reason to reverse that today, essentially a lot of players have put their cues back in the rack.”
Stocks were trading at light volumes on Friday, despite a heavy volume week.
The big four banks were up close to one per cent, which helped offset some losses generally around the bourse.
The worst performer was Slater and Gordon, which shed 37 cents, or 12.13 per cent of its value to $2.68.
Also in the red was Primary Health Care, which downgraded its profit forecasts for fiscal 2016, as revenues declined.
It shed 27 cents or 7.5 per cent, to $3.33.
Myer was a shining light, boosting its value 4.5 per cent to $1.03 after it reported a lift in same store sales during the first quarter.
“That good lift in overall earnings comes from an improved retail environment,” Mr McCarthy said.
Heavy hit BHP Billiton has climbed back slightly during the past two sessions, closing eight cents higher to $20.50 on Friday.
It beat rival Rio Tinto, which closed seven cents lower to $48.61.
Low oil prices didn’t help the energy sector, with Woodside Petroleum down 50 cents to $30, and Santos down 19 cents to $4.14.
KEY FACTS
* At 1615 AEDT on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 13.5 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 5,256.1 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 12.2 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 5,305.5 points.
* The December share price index futures contract was up three points at 5259 points, with 27,337 contracts traded.
* The price of gold in Sydney at 1700 AEDT was $US1085.89 per fine ounce, up $US8.86 on Thursday’s price of $US1,077.03.
* The national turnover was 2.2 billion securities worth $5.7 billion.
