Australia’s ASX 200 dropped 58 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 8,783 on Friday, weighed down by steep losses in U.S. equity futures. The weakness followed a sharp pullback in U.S. chip stocks on Thursday, which snapped their blistering rally from earlier in the year. Rising tensions in the Middle East and reduced shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz further dampened risk appetite.
The local benchmark, which had been broadly flat in the previous session, closed the week 0.3% lower, extending its losing streak to a second consecutive week. Markets were also positioned cautiously ahead of next week’s Australian labor force report, after May delivered the strongest job gains in five months even as the unemployment rate hovered near a four-year high.
Sector-wise, technology, non-energy minerals, manufacturing, and consumer non-durables led the decline. Mining stocks fell 2.9%, with BHP and Rio Tinto shedding 2.9% and 2.5%, respectively. Gold producers were also under pressure, with Evolution Mining down 4.2% and Northern Star off 4.0%. The major banks retreated between 0.2% and 1.1%.
In contrast, energy shares outperformed, supported by gains in Woodside Energy, which climbed 2.9%, and Santos, which advanced 1.7%.
