Australian Markets Fall Again To End The Week Down 1.7%

Australian markets ended lower as investors braced for the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy meeting due next week.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.33 percent to 7,724.30 as miners declined due to pressure on iron ore prices from China's weakening property market. The broader All Ordinaries index ended down 0.35 percent at 7,974.80.

For the week, the ASX200 lost 135.7 points, or 1.73 per cent, after last week gaining 158 points, or 2.06 per cent.

The broader All Ordinaries on Friday finished down 27.7 points, or 0.35 per cent, at 7,974.8.

The day's losses came despite a positive lead from Wall Street, where the S&P500 and Nasdaq gained for a fourth day in a row.

Dimming hopes for domestic rate cuts this year may be behind the malaise, particularly after Thursday's better-than-expected labour force report.

Australia's unemployment rate dropped in May and employment increased notably, suggesting that the labor market is relatively tight, official data revealed on Thursday.

The jobless rate fell to 4.0 percent in May, as expected, from 4.1 percent in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. At the same time, employment increased 39,700 from the previous month, much stronger than the expected growth of 30,000.

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