Australian stocks lose $91 billion in a week as Middle East war weighs, ASX 200 falls 3.8%, erasing half of February gains; check top gainers and losers

Australian Sharemarket: The widening Middle East conflict triggered by US-Israel joint strikes on Iran has started to take toll on the Australia stocks as some A$130 billion ($91.4 billion) in market value has been wiped from Australia's share market this week. The sharemarket saw erosion of wealth as investors are on edge amid the Middle East conflict and hot on the heels of record earnings season volatility.

The S&P/ASX 200 closed lower Friday, dropping 89.30 points or 1.00% to 8,851.00 and crossing below its 50-day moving average. The bottom performing stocks in this index were DEEP YELLOW LIMITED and CATALYST METALS LIMITED, down 11.79% and 11.34% respectively. The index has lost 3.78% for the last five days, but sits 3.82% below its 52-week high.

The benchmark has slumped 3.8% ‌since the weekend when ⁠the ⁠United States and Israel began bombarding Iran giving up about half of its gains for all of February, as reported by news agency Reuters. The broader index slid 1% on Friday with most blue-chip stocks in the red.

S&P/ASX 200: Top gainers and losers

On the S&P/ASX 200, several stocks posted notable gains. SiteMinder Limited led the top performers, with its shares closing at $3.550, up $0.410 or 13.057%. WiseTech Global Limited also recorded a strong rise, ending the session at $52.720, a gain of $5.150 or 10.826%.

Among other advancers, DroneShield Limited finished at $4.070, climbing $0.370 or 10.000%. Catapult Sports Ltd rose to $3.990, up $0.350 or 9.615%, while Magellan Financial Group Limited closed at $11.550, gaining $0.980 or 9.271%.

On the downside, several stocks recorded declines. Deep Yellow Limited fell to $2.170, down $0.290 or 11.789%. Catalyst Metals Limited dropped to $7.040, losing $0.900 or 11.335%.

Meanwhile, Sandfire Resources Limited ended at $17.090, declining $1.810 or 9.577%. Westgold Resources Limited slipped to $6.630, down $0.590 or 8.172%, while Northern Star Resources Ltd closed at $26.980, falling $2.380 or 8.107%.