The Wrap: ASX finishes positive week with tech rally

Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day and how the experts saw it.

The numbers: The Australian sharemarket has posted its first two consecutive days of gains this month, finishing a positive week with a 0.8 per cent increase on Friday as tech stocks rose by 6 per cent.

The ASX 200 closed the week on 6,578.7 points, rising by 1.6 per cent over the last five sessions after shedding 7.7 per cent across the past month, with global markets turning downwards as central banks around the world begin to lift interest rates to tackle inflation, sparking fears of a global recession.

Mining stocks were the biggest losers this week as recession fears weighed on commodity prices, with the materials sector falling by 4.9 per cent across five sessions. Energy stocks were similarly impacted by falling oil prices and suffered the largest fall on Friday, shedding 1.5 per cent.

Tech stocks were the best performer for the week, rising by 8.1 per cent. On Friday, software company Xero lifted by 7.5 per cent and WiseTech Global climbed by 8.5 per cent.

The lifters: Life360 Inc 24.9%, Zip Co 21.6%, Imugene 17.9%

The laggards: Ampol -2.6%, Viva Energy -2.5%, Beach Energy -2.5%

The lowdown: The tech sector’s rally on Friday came after the tech-heavy Nasdaq led Wall Street gains early on Friday morning (AEST), climbing by 1.6 per cent.

US futures pushed the sector higher during the session, while investors also saw value in the interest rate-sensitive tech sector which was particularly damaged as the ASX suffered its worst week in two years last week as central bankers moved to lift rates.

The local sharemarket’s positive week comes despite its large miners falling, with BHP and Rio Tinto hitting their lowest share price since May 10 as iron ore prices continued to decline from their recent March peak. Concerns there was an oversupply of steel in China and its COVID-19 policies would limit growth worried markets.