Australian shares slip as mining losses offset bank gains

Australian equities lost ground on Friday, with the S&P/ASX 200 down 0.4% at 8,762.80 by 0104 GMT, Business Recorder reported. The index was on course for its first weekly decline in four weeks as weaker mining shares outweighed a 0.6% advance in financials. Concern about intensifying Saudi Arabia-Houthi fighting added to cautious sentiment and pushed Brent crude to a five-month high amid supply worries.

Mining stocks fell as iron ore and copper prices softened, with the sector sub-index losing nearly 3% for the day; heavyweight miners were down more than 7% for the week. Rio Tinto announced a $1.9 billion investment in Queensland’s Kangwinan bauxite project, planned to add 20 million tons of annual output, but its shares dropped 2.5%. Gold stocks and energy shares also declined, while all four major banks gained between 0.2% and 1.1%; New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 fell 0.2%.