ASX Today Live News & Analysis

Australia's share market has wiped most of the week's gains in two sessions, as a rising greenback and global growth concerns dragged metals prices lower.

The S&P/ASX200 fell 82.4 points on Friday, down 0.92 per cent, to 8,828.7, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 79.5 points, or 0.87 per cent, to 9,047.3.

The top-200 scraped a gain of less than 0.3 per cent for the week, after a four-day rally on the US-Iran peace deal disintegrated from Thursday as tumbling metals prices hammered local miners.

Only the energy sector, health care companies and consumer-facing stocks ended the week's final session higher.

"It's that fall in the mining sector that's making the difference on the market, because without that, we'd be very close to square on the day," Moomoo market strategist Michael McCarthy told AAP.

"Having said that, volumes are weak, and so I think we probably could find this as not a panic, but rather a buyers' strike on the day."

BHP shares tanked by 5.6 per cent in their worst session since April 2025, after it announced a write down at its Canadian Jansen potash project.

Rio Tinto and Fortescue also suffered, as iron ore prices lingered at 15-week lows and copper prices eased.

Gold sank to $US4,144 ($A5,912) an ounce, dragging its local sub-index 3.8 per cent underwater with it.

Financials eased less than 0.1 per cent on Friday, but ended the five sessions 1.4 per cent higher, locking in a second week of gains after broadly selling off since April.

Energy stocks tumbled more than seven per cent since Monday, with oil prices finally succumbing to gravity as the US and Iran inked their preliminary peace deal.

The sector (and crude) gained ground on Friday, after further peace talks between the two nations in Switzerland were called off, raising questions about the truce.

Health care stocks outperformed for the session and the week, the defensive segment benefiting from risk-off positioning and offering value after plummeting by roughly 50 per cent since August.

Biotechnology giant CSL led the charge, its shares surging more than seven per cent in its best day in more than four years.

In company news, Skycity Entertainment soared more than 14 per cent after it paid $21 million for anti-money laundering breaches at its Adelaide Casino.

Defence technology firm Electro Optic Systems traded more than 14 per cent higher after winning a $US124 million ($A177 million) contract with UAE defence group Generation 5.

The Aussie dollar is buying 70.12 US cents, down from 70.38 US cents on Thursday, as the greenback strength index sailed to 13-month highs as bets narrowed on incoming US interest rate hikes.

ON THE ASX:

The S&P/ASX200 fell 82.4 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 8,828.7

The broader All Ordinaries lost 79.5 points, or 0.87 per cent, to 9,047.3

The NZX 50 added 132.32 points (0.98%) to 13,495.63 while the Nikkei gained 196.57 points (0.28%) at the time of writing, to be closed at 71,250.06