Australian shares closed marginally lower on Friday as losses in healthcare stocks outweighed gains in the energy sector, while bleak U.S. jobless data added to fears of a prolonged economic recovery.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> slipped about 0.1% to 6,111.20, after a 0.8% fall on Thursday. For the week, the benchmark lost about 0.2%, snapping two straight weeks of gains.
Data released overnight showed the number of Americans filing a new claim for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly back above the 1 million mark last week, a setback for a struggling U.S. job market crippled by the coronavirus pandemic.
"The worry is the ability for us to continue to grow," said Damian Rooney, director of equity sales at Argonaut, adding that the weekly U.S. unemployment data was concerning.
"The equity market has been a good friend... but the merry-go-round could stop at any stage."
Smoling Stockbroking Managing Director Brad Smoling said there was a strong sense in the market that a risk-off mode could come very quickly in case of a sell-off in the United States.
Australian healthcare stocks <.AXHJ> fell 1.3%, dragged by a 1.5% slide in sector heavyweight CSL Ltd <CSL.AX>, while Ansell <ANN.AX> lost 2.2%. On a weekly basis, the sub-index jumped 4.3% in its biggest gain since the week ended April 10.
Energy stocks <.AXEJ> settled 1.3% higher, lifted by a rise in oil prices on efforts by major producers to hold back output. [O/R]
Santos <STO.AX> gained 3.6%, while Woodside Petroleum <WPL.AX> added 1%.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> ended 1.5% higher at 11,835.94, boosted by technology stocks.
Among top gainers, Skellerup Holdings Ltd <SKL.NZ> rose 6.43%, while Kiwi Property Group Ltd <KPG.NZ> climbed 5%.
Dairy producer a2 Milk <ATM.NZ> finished up 1.8% after it offered to buy a 75.1% stake in Mataura Valley Milk from China Animal Husbandry Group.
(Reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
