Stocks end flat as banks weigh

The local sharemarket has lost ground this week, while investors are cautious on banks ahead of US jobs data.

The Australian sharemarket has ended the Friday session flat, weighed down by the banking sector yet again as traders showed caution ahead of tonight’s official US jobs numbers.

At the closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index edged up 2.6 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 5,230.5, while the broader All Ordinaries index tacked on 4.6 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 5,315.6.

The benchmark index ended the week down 0.3 per cent, with materials outperforming and financials serving as the straggler.

Altair Asset Management market analyst Tristan K’Nell said nervousness reigned ahead of the US data and Chinese inflation figures, which are due out over the weekend. Political uncertainty in Europe and Australia has also forced investors to take a wait-and-see approach.

“Market turnover was well below average today,” he said.

“With the election and it’s result still up in the air, it no surprise that investors weren’t willing to make any big plays today.”

The banks endured a roller-coaster session as investors weigh the potential of a ratings cut from Standard & Poor’s as well as the political gridlock and prospect for further capital raisings to meet more stringent capital requirements.

Commonwealth Bank slid 0.12 per cent to $72.41, Westpac lost 0.24 per cent to $28.27 and NAB eased 0.2 per cent to $24.43, while ANZ bucked the trend to rise 0.26 per cent to $23.12.

In mining, BHP Billiton made a late reversal into the red, ending down 0.17 per cent at $19.05.

However, rival Rio Tinto surged 1.9 per cent to $48.30 and iron ore miner Fortescue added 0.78 per cent to $3.86 despite falls in commodity prices on Thursday night.

In energy, Santos bounced sharply off early losses of 3 per cent, ending the day up 0.21 per cent at $4.76, while Woodside Petroleum lifted 0.23 per cent to $26.61 despite oil prices tumbling 4.8 per cent in the offshore session.

“It was pleasing to see the market resilient and shrugging off the volatility overnight in crude oil and iron ore with the energy and resource sector holding up quite well despite a weak lead from commodity markets,” Mr K’Nell said.

Elsewhere, Kogan bounced in its second day of trade, with the online retailer jumping 1 per cent to $1.515 in volatile deals, while fellow Thursday battler Cimic rallied 4.1 per cent to $31.50.

Both firms tumbled over 16 per cent on Thursday, with Kogan battered on its debut on the exchange and Cimic hit by a critical Morgan Stanley note that questioned its balance sheet.

Cimic ended the week as the worst performer in the ASX200 thanks to total losses of 12 per cent. The leaders through the past five days came mostly in the gold sector as big names such as Newcrest rose close to 10 per cent, although Whitehaven Coal outperformed all with an 18.6 per cent weekly jump.

Meanwhile, Telstra inched up 0.18 per cent to $5.59 on the day, while Qantas advanced 0.72 per cent to $2.80 as it announced its new card surcharge fees.

The Australian dollar traded at US74.92c at the end of local trade, having briefly jumped above US75c during the session.