The Australian sharemarket failed to take a positive lead from Wall Street as a decline in iron ore prices weighed on the major miners and investors continued to dump bank stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 42.5 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 8666.9 on Friday, with seven out of 11 sectors in the red. This came after the S&P 500 closed up 0.1 per cent overnight, and the Nasdaq finished 0.2 per cent higher.

“Despite US equity markets closing at record high levels, driven by positive tech results, the ASX drifted lower, weighed down by Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock’s speech this week tempering rate cut hopes,” said Wilson Asset Management senior investment analyst Hailey Kim.

On the ASX, Woodside Energy rose 3.7 per cent to $26.20 and Santos 1 per cent to $7.78 as oil prices climbed for a second day amid optimism about US trade talks ahead of next week’s deadline.

Iron ore futures in Singapore dropped 1.9 per cent to $US103.10 a tonne amid signs of oversupply. Shipments from Port Hedland, Australia’s largest bulk export terminal, hit a record in June.

“The seaborne iron ore market is seeing record supply,” said Westpac’s head of commodity strategy Robert Rennie. “Meanwhile, Chinese steel production year to date is at the lowest in five years.”

BHP dropped 1.9 per cent to $40.80, Fortescue tumbled 3.4 per cent to $18.35, and Rio Tinto came off 0.8 per cent to $118.86.

The correction in bank stocks also extended into Friday’s session as investors took profits on the stellar run in Commonwealth Bank shares. All four lenders traded lower.

“Banks remain under pressure as rising inflation risks push global bond yields higher, driving an unwinding of momentum trades and rotation out of the sector,” said Wilson Asset Management’s Kim.

Gold miners also slipped as traders ramped up bets the US Federal Reserve would keep monetary policy on hold for now, weighing on prices of the precious metal. Northern Star came off 2.8 per cent to $15.81, Evolution 3.2 per cent to $7.30, and Perseus 2.5 per cent to $3.56.

However, Newmont rose 3.8 per cent to $95.38 after reporting a quarterly adjusted net income of $US1.6 billion, beating consensus by 23 per cent.

Stocks in focus

In corporate news, KMD Brands jumped 4.4 per cent to 24¢ after tapping Qantas executive Carla Webb-Sear to become its chief financial officer.

Steadfast Group dipped 1.5 per cent to $5.82 on news that long-serving chief financial officer Stephen Humphrys would retire at the end of August.

Regal Partners jumped 9 per cent to $2.90 after the investment manager reported a 7 per cent lift in funds under management for the June quarter, with net inflows of around $600 million for the period.

Bapcor shares firmed 1.6 per cent to $3.72, after tanking nearly 30 per cent on Thursday, with fund manager Tanarra Capital lifting its stake in ailing automotive parts group through $26 million of share buying, it announced on Friday.

And micro-cap Icetana rocketed 26.2 per cent to 8¢ after the software developer reported quarterly revenue of $490,000, up 13 per cent on Q3 FY25, generated by deployments of existing orders and contract renewals.