Australia Shares extend losses to fifth day

The Australian share market finished down for fifth straight session on Friday, 20 August 2021, as declines in gold stocks and miners evened out gains in consumer and real estate firms.

The market decline followed the daily NSW COVID-19 update where 644 new COVID cases were announced while the Greater Sydney lockdown will also be extended until the end of September.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 3.76 points, or 0.05%, to 7,460.87. The broader All Ordinaries dropped 10.15 points, or 0.13%, to 7,725.15. The market fell 2.2% across the five sessions.

Shares of materials and resources declined, with mining titan BHP down another 0.7 per cent to A$44.34, bringing its weekly decline to 16 per cent, as commodity prices came under pressure amid growth concerns and a regulatory crackdown in China. Rio Tinto (RIO) was slightly higher, rising 0.06% while Fortescue Metals (FMG) was 1.1% firmer. RIO finished down ~10.9% this week with FMG 8.7% lower

In company news, hearing implant maker Cochlear (COH) slid 7.4% on the release of its FY21 profit results even as the company turned a profit of A$326.5 million from A$238.2 million loss in the previous period.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.711, having declined from above $0.728 earlier in the week.

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