Australian shares prices were likely to remain mixed as investors search for fresh leads in the new financial year, dealers said Friday. For the week ending June 29, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 107.7 points or 1.69 percent to 6,274.9. It was up 1,201.0 points or 23.67 percent in the 12 months to the end of June.
ABN Amro Morgans private client adviser Kylie Macdonald said recent losses were weighing on market sentiment. "Our market, just after a stellar run the last few months, is obviously just coming back to earth a bit," she said.
Commsec chief equities economist Craig James said the market's upward trajectory should be restored in the medium term. "We expect the All Ordinaries and ASX 200 indexes to be around 6,600 by December and 7,000 by June 2008," he said.
He said the main economic focus next week would be the Reserve Bank's monetary policy meeting, which was expected to leave interest rates at 6.25 percent. The only other major data are international trade figures, expected to show Australia's 62th consecutive monthly deficit.