US strife hits local bourse

AUSTRALIA’S sharemarket finished the week on a bearish note as the Russia-Ukraine peace talks faltered.

The benchmark ASX 200 index closed down 0.9 per cent at 7063.6 points on Friday, bringing its fall for the week to 0.7 per cent. City Index analyst Tony Sycamore noted Wall Street had set the tone, with the bluechip Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.3 per cent overnight on Thursday. He said geopolitical tensions had contributed to rising inflation in the US.

US inflation hit a new 40year high of 7.9 per cent in February, driven by a surge in energy, food and housing costs.

In response, the US Federal Reserve is expected to increase interest rates next week, for the first time since the pandemic began.

Russia and Ukraine failed to make a breakthrough overnight on Thursday in their first top-level talks since Moscow’s invasion two weeks ago.

On the Australian bourse, riskier sectors such as technology, health care and payment firms copped a beating.

Zip Co – which released details of its $50m share purchase plan – fell 7.6 per cent to $1.575, while Afterpay parent Block dropped 3.2 per cent to $146.40. Blood giant CSL was another prominent casualty, with a 2.5 per cent decline to $256.53.

Mining giant BHP fell 0.13 per cent to $47.59 and Rio Tinto rose 1 per cent to $111.70.