As it happened: Flat Friday hands ASX first weekly loss in three

This included Suncorp, which added 11.1 per cent to finish at $9.65 on a consensus-trumping annual result.

Wall Street’s lead was positive but JP Morgan Asset management market strategist Kerry Craig said a relative absence of risk events may have left investors wondering where the next upside surprise will come from.

“What has driven the market lately is earnings surprises in US, surprises in economic data… now the US market is at a record high the question is where the next surprise comes from,” he said.

“The (weaker) jobs data we saw this week shows things might be slowing after a big bounce, and the market momentum might be hard to maintain”.

Finishing the local session in the red were the big four banks, biotech CSL, mining titans Rio Tinto and BHP, and the likes of Woolworths, Wesfarmers, and Macquarie Group.

Improving coronavirus case statistics out of Victoria and NSW did little to improve the mood.

The financials started strong but fell away, exemplified by market operator ASX Ltd touching a record high $90.84 before closing 1.9 per cent lower at $88.18.

Fortescue Metals outperformed the materials sector with a 0.7 per cent rise to $17.99, while Oz Minerals was the worst performer on the ASX 200 as it shed 4.6 per cent to $14.18.

Lab and diagnostic firm Healius touched its highest price since August 2018 and closed 0.3 per cent higher after releasing its profit report. Mayne Pharma fell 2.9 per cent to 34 cents.

There were a number of record highs across the tech sector after the NASDAQ set a new peak overnight.

Megaport, Appen, and Xero reached all-time highs on Friday and Afterpay equalled Thursday’s record of $82. All had cooled off by the end of the session.

Nearmap, however, rose 10.3 per cent to $2.69, helping the sector to a 4.6 per cent weekly gain.

It was also a record day for a number of consumer discretionaries stocks.

Wesfarmers, ARB Corp, Breville, Domino’s, and JB Hi-Fi set new peaks, but they too cooled towards the close.

Travel stocks Webjet and Flight Centre were standouts, finishing up 11.8 per cent and 7.1 per cent, while the Star Entertainment Group added 7.1 per cent on an analyst upgrade following its result on Thursday.

Woolworths and Coles weighed consumer staples down, though Inghams rose highest in a month on its earnings report, closing 3 per cent higher at $3.39.

A $251 million manufacturing foray for a2 Milk seemed to impress investors, with the stock ending the day 1.2 per cent ahead at $18.37.

A 2.3 per cent gain for Transurban helped industrials improve, while telco stocks were helped by a 0.7 per cent rise for Telstra and a 2.7 per cent climb for TPG Telecom.