The Australian sharemarket recorded its fourth consecutive weekly gain after US President Donald Trump said he would resume trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which helped soothe concerns about the global trade war.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3 per cent, or by 23 points to 8515.7 point at the closing bell on Friday, with eight of 11 sectors in the red. Still, the bourse notched a 1 per cent gain over the week. The All Ordinaries edged down 0.3 per cent.
Trump said he would recommence trade negotiations with China after a “very good” phone call with the Chinese president, in which the two leaders exclusively discussed critical minerals exports and wider trade.
The news helped quell concerns that the global trade war would hurt Chinese demand for commodities, boosting iron ore futures and Brent oil. China is a major importer of crude and Australian iron ore.
Among the miners, BHP rose 0.7 per cent to $38.23 and Fortescue rallied 1 per cent to $15.65. The rise in the mining giant’s share price tracked the higher iron ore price. Futures in Singapore were up 0.8 per cent to $95.65 a tonne.
Critical minerals stocks were heavily sold on expectations China could ease export restrictions on rare earths. Pilbara Minerals slumped 5.2 per cent to $1.28 and IGO lost 3.5 per cent to $4.19.
Wider losses swept across the ASX 200 as investors took money off the table ahead of the latest US monthly jobs report that will fan speculation about the Federal Reserve’s next round of interest rate cuts. Profit-taking in technology and the bank stocks gathered momentum, with index heavyweight Commonwealth Bank retreating 0.8 per cent to $179.90.
The US dollar fell amid concerns about the labour market, helping to push the Australian dollar to a six-month high of US65.37¢ overnight.
In corporate news, Ora Banda Mining tumbled 14.1 per cent to $1.10 after warning that it expects full-year gold production to come in below guidance due to extended downtime at its Davyhurst project.
Qantas rose 3.5 per cent to $10.76 after competitor Virgin Australia said commitments for its $685 million IPO had been well covered but warned some investors would not get the full amount of shares requested.
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