Australian shares have fallen for three of the past four weeks after reporting season revealed a K-shaped market, with miners outperforming while economic worries weigh on earnings expectations elsewhere.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 14.2 points on Friday, down 0.16 per cent, to 9,005.9, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 2.3 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 9,196.
The top 200 lost just under one per cent since Monday.
Interest rate markets now expect a nearly 80 per cent chance of a Reserve Bank cash rate hike later in September, after June-quarter GDP figures came in hotter than expected.
Making matters worse, the figures showed the economy had delivered zero net productivity growth since 2019.
"Some thought the economy is growing a little bit too fast, and so therefore you may actually need to raise rates to slow down the rate of growth, even though the rate of growth is so slow," Moomoo chief market strategist Tapas Strickland told AAP.
Miners dipped on Friday but had improved over the week, as copper clung to recent gains and gold lifted on a dovish US Federal Reserve pivot and ongoing central bank buying.
Concerns about sovereign debt and bonds — particularly US Treasuries — mounted during the week, as high oil prices intensified inflation fears, spiking yields as traders mulled the sustainability of global fiscal spending levels.
The de-dollarisation or "debasement" trade supported precious metals and also provided tailwinds for Bitcoin, which topped $US81,000 ($A112,391) for the first time since May.
Closer to home, energy stocks actually ended the week lower, after ex-dividend dips for Woodside, Ampol and Viva outweighed the advance in oil prices, with Brent crude firming to $US95.60 a barrel.
The heavyweight financials sector gained almost two per cent since Monday, as dip-buyers piled into beaten-down bank stocks.
The segment had fallen roughly 10 per cent during earnings season, after solid bank results were overshadowed by tumbling mortgage applications and a bleak spending outlook.
Consumer discretionary stocks have been hit hardest by the broader economic malaise, falling for a fourth-straight week and down more than 12 per cent over that time.
The Australian dollar is trading at three-month highs, buying 72.04 US cents and up from 71.65 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.
A widening Australia-US interest rate differential could support further upside for the Aussie, and contribute to stronger flows into currency-hedged ETFs as investors weighed currency risk in their exposure to international equities, Global X ETFs Strategy Analyst Joseph Marassa said.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 fell 14.2 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 9,005.9
* The broader All Ordinaries slipped by 2.3 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 9,196
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 72.04 US cents, from 71.65 US cents at 5pm AEST on Thursday
* 112.60 Japanese yen, from 112.55 Japanese yen
* 61.96 euro cents, from 61.74 euro cents
* 53.20 British pence, from 53.11 pence
* 122.22 NZ cents, from 122.32 NZ cents
