Australia: ASX 200 Sinks But Logs First Weekly Gain in Four.

The S&P/ASX 200 tumbled 134 points, or 1.5%, to finish at 8,744 on Friday, ending two days of gains as profit-taking and broad sector weakness dragged the market lower. The sell-off followed Wall Street’s slump Thursday amid renewed Middle East tensions after U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz, each blaming the other for the escalation. Sentiment was further pressured by the Reserve Bank’s third rate hike this year, earlier this week, lifting the cash rate to 4.35% amid persistent inflation risks and second-round price pressures from geopolitical uncertainty. Losses were broad-based, led by financials, retail trade, logistics, and energy minerals. The four major banks plunged between 1.5% and 4.8%. Other notable laggards included Wisetech Global (-4.6%), ASX Ltd. (-3.2%), Bluescope Steel Ltd. (-2.7%), and Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. (-2.5%). Still, markets edged up 0.2% for the week, up for the first time in four weeks, helped by bargain hunting.