Australia: Shares end higher, post second straight weekly loss

[BENGALURU] Australian shares ended higher on Friday (Nov 19), but marked a second straight weekly drop as a modest recovery in financials and a revised takeover bid for under-siege Crown Resorts were unable to counter the weekly slump by the big banks and miners.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.23 per cent to close at 7,396.5 points.

So-called "Big Four" banks led the decline on the sub-index for the week after top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia flagged margin pressures on Wednesday (Nov 17), pushing financials down 3.6 per cent for the week, its worst since October 2020.

However, CBA recovered lost ground on Friday, climbing up to 1.3 per cent following the lender's latest foray into the cryptocurrency space after buying a stake in its crypto trading partner - Gemini. Financials sub-index closed 0.1 per cent up.

"At a time when the fierce competition in the key home loan market is hurting the banks' margins substantially, one can expect the financial sector to remain under pressure for quite some time," said Kunal Sawhney, chief executive officer of Kalkine Group.

"Such margin pressure could be eased with a hike in interest rate, which seems highly unlikely over the coming months."

Troubled Australian casino group Crown Resorts soared 17.1 per cent to climb most in about 8 months after investment giant Blackstone Group made a US$6.2 billion approach for casino group, sweetening an earlier offer as its main rival bidder is beset by regulatory problems.

The mining index rose 0.52 per cent, with BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals advancing between 1 per cent and 1.8 per cent.

However, miners were down 1.5 per cent for the week as iron ore prices sank to an 18-month low this week on worries that weak demand for the steelmaking ingredient in China, the world's biggest steel producer, will persist beyond 2021.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.47 per cent to finish the session at 12740.1 points.

REUTERS