The Australian sharemarket fell to the lowest in more than two weeks on Friday as investors took some money off the table as they wait to see if the United States joins Israel’s conflict with Iran.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 18.2 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8505.5 on Friday AEST – its fourth day down in a row and the lowest level since the start of June as six out of 11 sectors traded in the red. Over the week, the bourse has fallen just 0.5 per cent.

‘High risk’

Wall Street was closed overnight for a public holiday, but markets are on edge after the White House said President Donald Trump would decide “within two weeks” on whether the US joins Israel’s bombardment of the Islamic Republic.

The sharemarket is “at high risk of a sharp near term pull back as the risk of an oil supply disruption flowing from the war with Iran is high and Trump’s tariff threat is far from resolved,” said AMP’s head of investment strategy Shane Oliver.

On the ASX, losses in the bank sector weighed, Commonwealth Bank fell 0.2 per cent to $182.53, and National Australia Bank 0.5 per cent to $38.91, while Westpac came off 1.1 per cent to $33.21, and ANZ dropped to 2.5 per cent to $28.39.

Defensive stocks were well bid, with healthcare companies Pro Medicus, and ResMed up more than 1 per cent. Cochlear climbed 2.5 per cent to $295.64.

The mining sector finished mixed, with Liontown Resources up 0.8 per cent to 65¢ after initially falling on a Citi downgrade to “sell”. The broker has cut its lithium price forecast by 15 to 20 per cent over the next three years. The news sent Pilbara Minerals down 5 per cent to $1.23, and Mineral Resources 6.2 per cent to $20.69.

Stocks in focus

In corporate news, Betr rose 5.3 per cent to 30¢ after it lobbed an all-share bid for PointsBet as it attempts to kill its rival’s sale to Japanese giant Mixi. PointsBet shares remained in a trading halt.

And Bowen Coking Coal plunged 48.6 per cent to 18¢ after it announced that depressed coal markets and the “unsustainable” Queensland coal royalty regime could result in it temporarily pausing operations at part, or all, of its flagship Burton Mine Complex near Moranbah.