By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The ASX 200 was little changed in early deals on Friday, holding at the 7511 level following a fresh record high close in the previous session as sentiment was buoyed by strong domestic trade data, while gains were capped as weaker iron ore prices pushed mining stocks lower.
On the coronavirus front, Victoria reported 4 fresh cases this morning as the state entered its sixth lockdown which is set to last at least 7 days. Queensland recorded 10 cases today, all linked to the current Indooroopilly cluster, while New South Wales recorded 262 cases yesterday as exposure sites continue to balloon across the Greater Sydney region.
Among stocks, Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) dipped 2.14%, 2.5% and 2.34% respectively after Iron ore prices tumbled 6.6% overnight. Meantime, Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX:APT) is up 5.22%, amid strong investor optimism following Square Inc 's (NYSE:SQ) A$39 billion takeover deal earlier this week.
In New Zealand the NZX 50 added 13.02 points or 0.1% to 12767.35.