The share market ended the week with a fall, weighed down by weakness in the energy, mining and banking sectors.
A drop of 0.8 per cent follows Thursday’s surge of more than two per cent, but it was still the best week for investors since late November.
OptionsXpress analyst Ben Le Brun said it appeared investors were showing buyer fatigue on Friday after the trongest gains for three months a day earlier.
“I think we were fearing after such a strong week that we might finish on a bit of a sour note,” Mr Le Brun said.
“Hopefully we reset and fire up next week, but it’s certainly the energy, materials and banks which have let the side down today.”
Energy giant Santos shed 15 cents, or 4.2 per cent, to $3.39 after announcing a $2.7 billion full year loss and downgrading its dividend payout policy.
Oil Search lost 25 cents to $7.13, Woodside shed 65 cents to $28.10 and Origin Energy was 14 cents weaker at $4.09.
BHP dropped 37 cents to $16.58, Rio Tinto fell 79 cents to $42.61 and Fortescue Metals closed 10 cents lower at $1.99.
The big four banks were also sold off, with Commonwealth Bank losing 85 cents to $73.43, National Australia Bank dropping 54 cents to $25.62, ANZ losing 35 cents to $23.40 and Westpac ending 20 cents weaker at $29.78.
Medibank Private dropped two cents to $2.48 despite announcing a sharp jump in half year profit, while CSL outperformed the market with a gain of $1.13 to $101.80.
Mr Le Brun said sentiment had appeared to improve this week, but warned the market was “not out of the woods yet”.
“It’s a market that’s jumping at shadows at the moment but there’s a little bit more sunshine around, so those shadows have just retreated somewhat,” Mr Le Brun said.
KEY FACTS:
* At the close on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 39.2 points, or 0.79 per cent, at 4,952.8.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 38.8 points, or 0.77 per cent, at 5,008.3.
* The March share price index futures contract was 36 points lower at 4,920, with 31,861 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 2.7 billion securities traded, worth $5.3 billion.
