By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The ASX 200 dropped 146.7 points or 2% to 7185.50 on Friday, reversing gains of 1.88% in the previous session, closing at 4-month lows and finishing the week 2.2% lower as market participants retreated following overnight losses in major U.S. benchmark indices as the S&P 500 posted its biggest monthly selloff since March 2020.
On the coronavirus front, New South Wales recorded 864 locally acquired cases as Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced she will quit as NSW Premier after the Independent Commission Against Corruption announced she was being investigated by the corruption watchdog. Victoria reported a near record 1143 cases as health authorities flagged potential modifications to the state’s reopening timeline. Meantime, Queensland tallied 2 fresh cases, while the ACT reported a fresh record high 52 cases.
Among stocks, Mining heavyweights closed lower, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO), BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) losing 3.26%, 2.15% and 2.74% respectively. Banking names also declined with Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) down 4.26%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) losing 2.41% and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) declining 2.58%. Meantime, Gold stocks closed higher as investors retreated into safe-haven assets. Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX:NST) added 2.65%, Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX:EVN) gained 2.44%, and Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX:NCM) lifted 0.88%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 closed slightly higher, adding 3.39 points or 0.03% to 13279.15