Australian shares edged lower on Friday as investors took profits in the banks ahead of US president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration early next week.

In a quiet final session of the week, the S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.2 per cent, or 16.6 points, to 8310.4 at the closing bell, weighed down by the financials and communication services sectors. That’s after the bourse rose 1.4 per cent on Thursday, spurred by better than expected inflation figures out of the US ahead of Mr Trump’s inauguration on Tuesday morning (AEST).

That jump reversed on Friday, sending all the major banks into the red. Index heavyweight Commonwealth Bank down 1.2 per cent to $153.90. National Australia Bank lost 1.7 per cent to $37.78, ANZ dropped 1.8 per cent and Westpac declined 1.5 per cent to $32.16.

Meanwhile, China’s economy expanded at a 5 per cent annual pace in 2024, achieving Beijing’s target of “around 5 per cent” growth, helped by strong exports and recent stimulus measures. Iron ore prices edged 0.6 per cent higher to a one-month high of $US103.25 per ton in Singapore.

Stocks in focus

In corporate news, CC Capital raised its bid for Insignia Financial to $4.60 a share, from $4.30 previously, bringing the value of the bid above $3 billion. That’s after rival bidder Bain Capital matched the previous $2.9 billion offer from CC Capital on Monday. Shares were 6.5 per cent higher to $4.43.

Rio Tinto closed down 0.7 per cent to $118.74 following reports from Bloomberg that the miner was holding talks with fellow mining giant Glencore about merging their businesses, a combination that would leapfrog BHP as the world’s largest mining group.

Lynas Rare Earths slipped 0.9 per cent to $7.03 after reporting slower production in the December quarter, despite rising sales revenue.

Shares in Lovisa advanced 7.8 per cent to $29.28 after the stock was upgraded to an “overweight” rating by Morgan Stanley.

Aussie Broadband appointed new chief executive Brian Maher as head of the group. He joined the telco in 2019. Shares were 5.5 per cent higher to $3.84.

Telix Pharmaceuticals added 3.1 per cent to $26.59 after receiving approval from Europe’s Marketing Authorisation Application for its prostate cancer imaging agent Illuccix.