ASX 200: Coles and Woolworths soar on ACCC damp squib report; Premier scraps dividend after half-year profit drop

TWE on watch as US winemakers now push for tariffs on Australia. Rio joins race for billionaire Mark Creasy's WA project. Woolworths, Coles mark best day in years after ACCC's damp squib supermarkets report.

Trading in Australia's supermarket duopoly, Premier results on investor radars. Picture: Gaye Gerard

That's all from the Trading Day blog for Friday, March 21. The ASX 200 index closed up 0.2 per cent at 7932.1 points after hitting a two-week high of 7962.6. The index rose 1.8 per cent for the week, scoring its first weekly gain in five weeks. Coles, Woolies and Mecash soared after a benign report from the the ACCC

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones ended flat, the S&P 500 down 0.2 per cent and the technology-focused Nasdaq shed 0.3 per cent.

Cryptocurrency giant bitcoin is just below $US85,000.

The Aussie dollar is trading around US62.95c.

Originally published as ASX 200: Coles and Woolworths soar on ACCC damp squib report; Premier scraps dividend after half-year profit drop