By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 closed sharply lower Friday, dropping 128.00 points or 1.73% to 7,279.30, falling 1.55% for the week and finishing at monthly lows, while posting the third consecutive week of declines amid broad-based losses as coronavirus fears remain in focus. Infection rates broke fresh records in parts of Europe this week, while researchers warned of a concerning variant detected in South Africa containing more than 30 changes to the spike protein, which could have implications for vaccine efficacy and transmissibility.
Among stocks, Airlines were hit as Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX:QAN) fell 5.29%, Flight Centre Ltd (ASX:FLT) lost 6.97% and Webjet Ltd (ASX:WEB) finished 4.61% lower.
heavyweight miners fell considerably, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) down 2.38%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) losing 1.5% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) down 4.17%. Financials also retreated, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) down 0.66%, Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) falling 0.81%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) down 2.54% and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) losing 2.45%.
Oil-related stocks were also trading lower as Oil prices continued to fall in response to emergency reserves released by governments designed to cool the market. Oil Search Ltd (ASX:OSH) tumbled 5.54%, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) dipped 4.91%, Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX:WPL) fell 5.1% and Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) shed 4.38%.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates fell 589 basis points to 1.759 while United States 10-Year yields were also lower at 1.557%.
Among currencies, the Australian Dollar plummeted to fresh 13-week lows, while the US Dollar Index was steady at 16-week highs.
In local data, retail sales came in at the strongest pace in 11 months with consumers returning to discretionary spending as the economy reopens.