FX.co ★ Australian Stocks End Lower

The S&P/ASX 200 Index registered a decline of 0.3%, closing at 8,516 on Friday. This marked a continuation of the losses from the previous session. However, it still achieved a weekly gain of almost 1%, marking the fourth straight week of gains as investors evaluated the impact of renewed trade discussions between the United States and China. On Thursday, President Trump and President Xi Jinping held a conversation in which they agreed that negotiations would resume soon to resolve the ongoing trade conflict, although no specific details were released. Analysts caution that while the dialogue has been revived, tensions remain high, and the potential for further escalation is significant given the lack of substantial progress. Meanwhile, investors are looking forward to crucial economic data from China, Australia's principal trading partner; this data, including consumer and producer prices as well as trade statistics, is expected next Monday. On the corporate side, significant declines were noted from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (-0.8%), CSL Limited (-0.4%), Westfarmers Limited (-0.5%), and ANZ Group (-0.4%).