The S&P/ASX200 was relatively flat to close lower on Friday (7 February), slipping 9.30 points or 0.11% to 8,511.40.
Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL), Beach Energy (ASX:BPT), and Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) were the bottom performing stocks in this index, down 5.776%, 5.209%, and 4.380% respectively.
Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC) was one of the top performing mining stocks, closing 6.125% higher at the bell, while Champion Iron (ASX:CIA) was in the top five, closing Friday 3.512% up.
At the start of trade today, Lynas climbed 2.3% to $6.68, while Champion was up 2.03% at $5.52.
Over the past five days, the S&P/ASX200 has virtually remained unchanged and is currently 0.65% below its 52-week high.
Six of 11 sectors ended higher despite the decline in the S&P/ASX 200 index. Information technology was the best performing sector, gaining 0.53% and 1.99% for the past five days.
Eight sectors started Friday’s trading session in the red although materials had escaped the drag down to lift 0.11% in early morning trade, as reported by Mining.com.au.
Today’s performance follows the index closing up 1.23% yesterday at 8,520 points as the market bounced back to near record territory and finished at an all-time closing high.
While there was a pullback towards the end of last year, the S&P/ASX200 delivered a solid performance in 2024, amassing a raft of record highs before ultimately finishing the year at 8,159.1 points. The index posted an 11.4% return in 2024.
The S&P/ASX200 is Australia’s leading share market index and contains the top 200 ASX-listed companies in terms of market capitalisation, and accounts for about 80% of the country’s equity market.
The index is designed to measure the performance of the 200 largest index-eligible stocks listed on the ASX by float-adjusted market capitalisation.
It is recognised as the institutional investable benchmark in the country.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: ASX & Stock
