Market Wrap / Betr bids

The local share market ended the week in the red, weighed down by the banks and the supermarkets. The S&P/ASX200 lost 18.20 points on Friday to be down 0.5% over the five days.

ANZ lost 2.5% to lead the banks lower with CBA slipping from another record high and retail giant Coles falling 2.2%.Commodity prices were lower on Friday after US President Donald Trump delayed a decision on direct involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict. Brent crude slipped 2%, but Woodside shares maintained their momentum to finish 0.9% higher. Gold also finished the week around 2% lower, but the yellow metal miners managed to gain with Ramelius rising 2.3%. And subdued iron ore prices sent the mining giants lower with MinRes losing 6.2%. 

Healthcare stocks were among the best performers with Cochlear climbing 2.5%. However, Sigma slipped 2.2%.

Amid ongoing action in M&A, betr made an off-market offer of 3.81 shares for each PointsBet share with both companies entering a trading halt.Elsewhere, Treasury Wine Estates added 0.9% as it seeks to reassure investors with an exceptional “Investor update” next Tuesday. Lendlease completed the sale of its Capella Capital infrastructure financing business to a Japanese firm for $235 million. The share price advanced 0.7% during the session.And Bowen Coking Coal plunged 48.6% as it warned of a possible pause in operations due to depressed coal markets.

Looking ahead, inflation figures are due next week, along with earnings from Metcash and Collins Foods. While Virgin Australia will make its comeback on the ASX.