The S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) managed to deliver another positive week, adding 0.3% on Friday and 0.8% for the week.
The news of the week was the Chinese Government ceasing high-level discussions with Australian officials, but at the same time their demand sending the iron ore price to above US$200 per tonne for the first time ever.
Naturally, BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) was a beneficiary, with the sector adding 3.9% over the five days.
Tech continues disappearing act
The IT sell-off has continued placing massive pressure on Australia’s smaller ‘tech darlings’. Overall, the IT sector fell 10.5% for the week and officially entered a correction.
The pain was widespread with Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) down 21.5%, Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) -19.3%, Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) -18.9%, Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) -15.0% and Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL) -13.3% in just a few days.
The trigger was more competition and weaker than expected growth updates.
Macquarie delivers record profit
In other news, Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) delivered a record full-year profit on Friday, hitting $3.02 billion, a 10% increase, boosted by a 3.6% rise in revenue.
The key contributor was an $800 million windfall from its commodities and trading division, with its hedging book seeing huge demand amid the volatility.
Management announced a commitment to be net-zero carbon by 2040 and tripled its dividend to $3.35 per share.
ASX 200 today
Looking ahead, the ASX 200 is expected to open relatively flat on Monday according to the latest ASX futures.
US markets provide a positive lead, with all three major indices pushing higher to close out the week. For all the latest, check out Rask Media’s US stock market report.
