Stocks in red for the week

The local market has tumbled close to 1pc today, as BHP slumped and banks weighed heavily.

The Australian sharemarket tumbled almost 1 per cent in Friday trade, erasing the gains seen earlier in the week as investors turned sour on resources stocks.

At the closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 45.3 points, or 0.92 per cent, at 5,312.6 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 45.8 points, or 0.84 per cent, at 5,391.6 points.

The benchmark index inched down 0.1 per cent for the week, with a failure to surpass resistance around 5,400 points leaving it vulnerable to a pullback.

The weak Friday session came on the back of heavy falls in commodity prices on Thursday night, with materials and energy stocks turning from leaders to laggards as a result.

CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner added part of the reason for the underperformance was “precautionary book squaring” ahead of the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.

Of particular interest is key Chinese economic numbers due out Monday, which helped put investors in a cautious mindset.

“The data is unlikely to be far outside expectations but if it is, stock market traders will be unable to react until Tuesday,” Mr Spooner said.

“The market has a number of potential risk events before it,” he added. “Chief amongst these is the Brexit vote on June 23.”

Mining behemoths BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were at the head of the sell-off, with BHP diving 4.1 per cent to $18.80 after Brazilian police said it was “more than negligent” in the Samarco disaster. Rio Tinto tumbled 3 per cent to $44.08.

Fortescue performed a bit better in sliding 1.5 per cent to $3.22 after iron ore prices held steady in comparison to other base metals.

The broad materials sector ended down 2.3 per cent on the day, but managed to close out a roller-coaster week 0.9 per cent higher.

Energy stocks also rounded off a strong week in the red as crude prices slid for the first day in five.

Santos closed down 1.9 per cent at $4.72, Origin lost 2.3 per cent to $5.86 and Woodside was off 1.3 per cent to $27.00.

Despite the falls the energy sector remained the best performer for the week, surging 3.6 per cent as oil prices trend higher.

In banking, ANZ weakened 0.86 per cent to $24.29, Commonwealth Bank gave back 1.1 per cent to $75.49, NAB eased 1.3 per cent to $26.07 and Westpac retreated 1.3 per cent to $29.95.

The financials sector as a while was one of the worst-performed industries through the week, sliding 0.6 per cent thanks to Friday’s 1 per cent loss.

The media and gold sectors were among the few bright lights as Seven West Media soared 11.5 per cent to $1.215 on a stock rating upgrade from Credit Suisse and Newcrest rose 1.2 per cent to $22.30 after the precious metal gained ground on Thursday night.

In aviation, Virgin Australia surged 3.6 per cent to 29c after Air New Zealand announced it had sold a majority of its stake to China’s Nanshan Group at a premium, while rival Qantas edged down 0.33 per cent to $3.00.

Elsewhere, blue chip telco Telstra was off 0.18 per cent to $5.46.

The Australian dollar weakened through the session, trading at US74.15c at the end of local trade.