The ASX surged higher immediately after the open, but soon crashed to end the day in the red once again.
Here's a quick recap:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) down 0.3% to 4892 points
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) down 0.3% to 4948 points
- AUD/USD at US 69.46 cents
- Iron Ore at US$40.22 a tonne, according to the Metal Bulletin
- Gold at US$1,080.77 an ounce
- Brent oil at US$30.54 a barrel
The ASX lifted as much as 1.8% this morning, fuelled by rising commodity prices and a strong performance in Wall Street overnight. It proved incapable of holding onto those gains however as Chinese shares once again traded lower.
Despite starting the day on a positive note, all four of Australia's major banks closed lower. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) was the worst, sliding 0.7%.
BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) all lifted for the day, although they closed considerably lower than their intraday highs.
BHP rose as much as 5.8% despite announcing a major write-down, but ended the day just 1.3% higher, while the others rose 1.7% each.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) and QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) also fell 0.7% and 3.2%.
Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX: LNG) managed to buck the trend, rising 15.3%, while Sundance Energy Australia Ltd (ASX: SEA) was by far the worst-performing share, losing 11.5%.
Here are Friday's top stories:
- BHP Billiton Limited announces US$7.2 billion writedown: What you need to know
- Dick Smith to save Dick Smith shareholders?
- Technology and health care sectors to be big winners in 2016
- National Australia Bank Ltd. shares lift on Clydesdale Bank update
- The Hub24 share price is soaring: Here's why
- Is the party over for the a2 Milk Company Ltd (Australia) and Bellamy's Australia Ltd share price?
