Market Wrap / wired for growth

Equities stopped to take a breath at the end of the week in the midst of an impressive bull market.

Having reached an intra-day record high earlier this week, the S&P/ASX 200 retreated 0.1% on Friday to finish at 8958.3 points, to be down 0.6% over the past five days. Commodities came under pressure today, notably gold, which pulled back from its recent record above US$4000 an ounce, with a Gaza peace deal within reach. A heavy bout of profit taking overwhelmed the gold miners with Vault and Ramelius Resources both shedding over 4%, whilst Regis managed to recover, rising 1%. BHP fell 2.2% on reports that a price dispute between the mining giant and China’s state-run iron ore buyer could roll into next year. Rio Tinto shares followed suit.

And falling oil prices dragged the energy sector down 0.7%. 

Tech stocks defied the broader market with Life360 rising 1.6%.In company news, Qantas gained altitude, up 2.1% despite being at risk of a customer data breach.Meanwhile, Guzman y Gomez eased 4.0% from Thursday’s gains off the back of a rosy outlook with Morningstar unimpressed with its share buyback plan.