The ASX was unable to sustain its surge higher for a fourth consecutive week, closing down with the materials sector the biggest loser of the week.
The S&P/ASX 200 slipped 55.20 points, or 0.67%, on Friday (4 October) to close the week at 8,150 points.
The bottom performing stocks in this index were lithium miner Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) and mining contractor NRW Holdings (ASX:NWH), with declines of 3.90% and 3.58%, respectively. Champion Iron (ASX:CIA) was also in the bottom five with a 3.50% slide.
Arcadium Lithium (ASX:LTM) managed to buck the downward pull of the sector to end the week up 2.70%.
Rising oil prices, meanwhile, buoyed the energy sector which was the top performing sector for the week following a five-day gain of 6.73% after climbing a further 1.84% in the final trading session of the week.
Materials slipped 1.18%, utilities was down 0.62% and industrials edged back 0.33%.
The S&P/ASX 200 Volatility Index (VIX) climbed 5.83% to 12.46 points, crossing above its 125-day moving average. The index has risen 8.19% over the past five days and is up 10.95% year to date.
Also known as the ‘fear’ index, the S&P/ASX 200 VIX is a real-time volatility index that provides an insight into investor sentiment and expected levels of market volatility.
The S&P/ASX 200 has edged back 0.76% over the past week, and currently sits 1.64% below its 52-week high.
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 Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: ASX & Stock
