Global Markets | Australian shares ease after record run; banks anchor weekly advance

Australian shares ended a few pips lower on Friday but extended weekly gains, supported by strong corporate earnings, with banks cushioning losses on the day.

The S&P/ASX 200 ‌slipped 4.8 ⁠points ⁠to 9,081.4, snapping a four-day winning streak, but rose 1.8% for the week after touching a record 9,118.3 on Thursday. Markets have rallied on solid earnings from BHP and National Australia Bank, with investors now looking to results from Woodside Energy, Woolworths, Coles and Qantas.

In the week, investors cheered earnings beats from companies such as QBE Insurance Group, up ⁠7.1% on ‌the day, while misses such as rival Suncorp Group, were punished.


On the day, miners fell 0.7% after the world's ⁠top iron ore producer, Rio Tinto, shed 3.1% after reporting an annual profit on Thursday after market hours, that missed estimates. Even so, the subindex has advanced 0.9% this week, underpinned by upbeat earnings from rival BHP, whose shares climbed 0.2% on the day.

The expected rotation out of pricey banks and into miners failed to emerge this week as stronger-than-forecast bank earnings undercut the ‌view that the sector was "ex-growth", said Philip Pepe, senior equities analyst at Shaw and Partners.

"All the major banks have now reported, and most ⁠delivered results ahead of consensus, which has instead triggered upgrades and rotation back into the sector," Pepe added. Banks climbed 0.7% on the day, cushioning wider losses, and have rallied 2.8% for the week. Among individual movers, fast-food chain Guzman y Gomez slumped as much as 16.5% to a record low after flagging sluggish U.S. sales in a tougher consumer backdrop.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 ended 1% lower at 13,308.52.