The Australian share market has closed lower for the fifth straight day as financial stocks weighed on the local bourse.
IG Market strategist Chris Weston said the ASX 200 had continued its sell-off on Friday.
“The bears seem to have been getting the upper hand of late and surely the index would be down more if the miners and energy names weren’t seeing solid short covering,” Mr Weston said.
“On a number of indicators it looks oversold after pulling back just over four per cent from November 7.”
The market has fallen in its last five sessions, due mainly to the impact of falling commodity prices, particularly iron ore, on the miners.
But the big miners were mixed on Friday amid some stability in the resource sector.
Australian stocks have defied a positive lead from the US, where both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 finished at fresh record highs.
Mining giant BHP Billiton lost 10 cents to $31.70, Rio Tinto was flat at $56.41 and Fortescue Metals was five cents higher at $2.69 following a recent sell off, preliminary figures show.
Energy stocks were also higher, with Oil Search up 39 cents to $8.57, Santos was up 25 cents at $11.94 and Woodside was 40 cents stronger at $38.85.
The big banks were mostly lower, with Commonwealth Bank down 25 cents at $80.09, ANZ down 12 cents at $31.82 and Westpac 28 cents weaker at $32.25.
National Australia Bank gained 17 cents to $32.27 after its US subsidiary Great Western Bancorp lifted full year profit nine per cent.
Elsewhere, Coles owner Wesfarmers was down 54 cents at $41.56, while Woolworths had gained 30 cents to $31.64.
KEY FACTS
* At the close on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 11.9 points, or 0.22 per cent, lower at 5,304.3.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 10.4 points, or 0.20 per cent, at 5,292.1, according to preliminary figures.
* The December share price index futures contract was six points lower at 5,311, with 27,638 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 1.3 billion securities worth $3.2 billion.
