Market Wrap / shopping spree

The S&P/ASX 200 finished Friday in the green, lifted by the consumer space. 

During the session, the index gained 0.2% to finish at 7932.10 points. The consumer staples did some heavy-lifting, while the materials sector offered a more nuanced picture. 

It comes as the ACCC’s year-long inquiry found Woolworths and Coles wield too much oligopolistic power, but the commission stopped short of recommending divestiture. That prompted a relief-rally among the giants with Coles and Woolies leaping 4.8% and 6.3% respectively. 

Elsewhere, Nine Entertainment confirmed it's in talks with property data group CoStar regarding its unsolicited bid for Domain, which is majority owned by Nine. Both stocks attracted new money. 

In the mining space, iron ore pricing saw some weaknesses on China’s subdued activity and Trump’s planned increased production of critical minerals. South32 dropped 2.5% while bigger players managed to make some gains. Gold stocks hit record high on strong bullion prices.

In the meantime - Paladin Energy said operations at its Langer Heinrich mine are being impacted by unseasonable heavy rains, which sent the stock 4% lower. 

Next week, all eyes will be on the Federal budget before candidates hit the campaign trail, with CBA expecting a $22.5 billion deficit following two surpluses.

For the week the market ended 1.8% higher.