Australian shares suffer sharpest weekly fall since May 11
Australian shares just had their sharpest weekly fall since May 11, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing 0.7% lower on Friday and down 1.2% for the week.
Investors grew cautious as tensions between the US and Iran heated up and conflicts in the Middle East dragged on, leading to a wave of selling across the market.
Financials, resources slide, health care up
Financial stocks slipped for a second week, with Commonwealth Bank falling 1.7%.
Resource giants like BHP and Rio Tinto also took a hit as iron ore and copper prices dropped, pushing the sector down 2.5%.
Rising oil prices and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty kept everyone on edge, but there was some good news: health care stocks actually rose by 3.5%, and consumer staples edged up too, offering a bit of relief amid all the volatility.