ASX dips as banks retreat

EQUITY investors maintained a pensive mood for the first session of the new month with losses for a suite of banking, technology and consumer names consigning the local bourse to narrow loss.

The benchmark ASX 200 eased into the weekend with a 5.8 point, or 0.1 per cent, decline to 7493.8 points, having dipped by a similar amount on Thursday.

The index still managed to end the week 1.2 per cent higher – a third week of increases – and is still hovering near multi-month highs after a barnstorming March rally that propelled it 6.4 per cent higher.

The broader All Ordinaries ended the week 3.7 points, or 0.05 per cent, lower on Friday at 7785.9 points and the Aussie dollar eased to US74.75c.

OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley said investors remained exposed to a range of competing headwinds – not least developments out of Covidblighted China, where the economy has been slowing.

“The property developer leverage problem has gone quiet but has not been resolved … its Covid-zero policy is also becoming a bit more challenging, with Shanghai’s lockdowns tightened overnight (on Thursday),” Mr Halley said.

Locally, bank stocks were lower. Commonwealth Bank fell 1.17 per cent to $104.53, ANZ tumbled 1.5 per cent to $27.18, Westpac retreated 1.2 per cent to $23.95 and NAB eased 0.06 per cent to $32.33.