Australia's share market has edged lower ahead of the Christmas break but the shortened week has provided a solid boost, keeping hopes of a Santa rally intact.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 33 points during Wednesday's abridged session, down 0.38 per cent, to 8,762.7, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 27.2 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 9,069.
Despite the soft finish, the top 200 has gained 1.6 per cent across the three-day week and the Aussie dollar has surged to its highest value since October 2024, buoyed by the interest rate outlook and hopes of a global economic upswing on better-than-expected US GDP figures.
"The share market's been strong this week, shaking off that weakness that we saw in November," Moomoo market strategist Michael McCarthy said.
"It's been quite a soggy finish today, unfortunately."
Ten of 11 local sectors lost ground, with only the raw materials providing a modest 0.3 per cent lift, as gold prices hit a fresh peak of $US4,526 ($A6,748) an ounce.
ASX-listed miners were mixed, with Northern Star up 1.2 per cent to $27.01, while Evolution and US-headquartered Newmont lost ground.
Rio Tinto and Fortescue edged higher as iron ore futures hovered below $US107 a tonne, while BHP only eked a 0.1 per cent lift to $45.62.
Copper producers rose as the base metal soared to record highs above $US12,000, providing a boost to Capstone (+2.7 per cent) and Sandfire Resources (+1.1 per cent), while critical minerals and rare earths stocks also made gains.
The heavyweight financials sector lost 0.4 per cent, with all big four banks trading between 0.2 and one per cent lower.
Major insurers were also under selling pressure, with QBE leading the losses with a 1.7 per cent drop after lifting earlier in the week.
Energy stocks handed back the morning's modest gains as oil prices eased from an overnight spike on the back of rising tensions between the US and Venezuela.
Health care was the worst performing sector of the bourse, tumbling 1.6 per cent and wiping the hard-fought gains of the previous three sessions.
Segment giants CSL, Pro Medicus and Resmed each dropped more than two per cent dragging the sector back to on-par with the previous week's more than five-year lows.
Monash IVF shares slumped more than 10 per cent after Soul Patts withdrew its roughly $312 million bid for the company.
Treasury Wines was one of the top-200's best performers, up 7.6 per cent after global businessman Olivier Goudet and his Platin investment group announced a $244 million phased buy-in of the winemaker.
Discretionaries were the worst of the consumer-facing stocks, handing back the majority of Tuesday's one per cent rally, while staples slimmed by 0.3 per cent, as Coles tumbled 1.5 per cent to $21.30.
In company news, Seven West Media jumped 4.2 per cent to 12.5 cents before going into a trading halt at the end of the session, ahead of its acquisition by Southern Cross Media, to be implemented on January 7.
The Aussie was buying 67.04 US cents at 3pm AEDT, breaking the 67 US cent level for the first time since September, and up from 66.66 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 lost 33 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 8,762.7
* The broader All Ordinaries gained 27.2 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 9,069
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 67.04 US cents, from 66.66 US cents at 5pm AEDT on Tuesday
* 104.52 Japanese yen, from 103.97 Japanese yen
* 56.87 euro cents, from 56.61 euro cents
* 49.60 British pence, from 49.42 British pence
* 114.78 NZ cents, from 114.68 NZ cents
