Australian shares ended higher on Friday, but marked a second straight weekly drop as a modest recovery in financials and a revised takeover bid for under-siege Crown Resorts were unable to counter the weekly slump by the big banks and miners.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.23% to close at 7,396.5 points.
So-called "Big Four" banks led the decline on the sub-index for the week after top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia flagged margin pressures on Wednesday, pushing financials down 3.6% for the week, its worst since October 2020.
However, CBA recovered lost ground on Friday, climbing up to 1.3% following the lender's latest foray into the cryptocurrency space after buying a stake in its crypto trading partner - Gemini. Financials sub-index closed 0.1% up.
"At a time when the fierce competition in the key home loan market is hurting the banks' margins substantially, one can expect the financial sector to remain under pressure for quite some time," said Kunal Sawhney, chief executive officer of Kalkine Group.
"Such margin pressure could be eased with a hike in interest rate, which seems highly unlikely over the coming months."
Troubled Australian casino group Crown Resorts Ltd soared 17.1% to climb most in about eight months after investment giant Blackstone Group Inc made a $6.2 billion approach for casino group, sweetening an earlier offer as its main rival bidder is beset by regulatory problems.
The mining index rose 0.52%, with BHP Group , Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals advancing between 1% and 1.8%.
However, miners were down 1.5% for the week as iron ore prices sank to an 18-month low this week on worries that weak demand for the steelmaking ingredient in China, the world's biggest steel producer, will persist beyond 2021.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.47% to finish the session at 12740.1 points.
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