AU Evening Wrap | ASX 200 Falls From Its High Due to the Drag From Property Stocks

Top gainers: $Web Travel Group Ltd (WEB.AU)$, $Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (TLX.AU)$ and $Meridian Energy Ltd (MEZ.AU)$

Top losers: $BSP Financial Group Ltd (BFL.AU)$, $Auckland International Airport Ltd (AIA.AU)$ and $Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (TAH.AU)$

The Australian share market declined slightly on Friday, reversing the gains made earlier in this week that had led to two record highs. The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ dropped by 0.1%, or 8.1 points, to close at 8436.2, with seven out of eleven sectors experiencing losses.

This decline followed a record close of 8444.3 on Thursday, which was buoyed by strong performances from major stock $CSL Ltd (CSL.AU)$; however, it fell back by 1% on Friday.

The Materials sector emerged as the top performer, with a gain of 0.82% for the day and 0.62% over the past five days. Property stocks were the weakest performers, with $Goodman Group (GMG.AU)$ shares decreasing by 0.8% and $Scentre Group (SCG.AU)$ down by 1.1%. These movements coincided with updated forecasts from economists at Australian financial institutions, who now expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut rates in May instead of February. Australian stocks lacked momentum due to the Thanksgiving holiday market close of Wall Street , with S&P 500 futures increasing by 0.3 per cent as the week neared its end.

$Web Travel Group Ltd (WEB.AU)$'s stock rose by 4.9% to $5.15, when the $Webjet Group Ltd (WJL.AU)$spinoff reported an underlying half-year net profit of A$52.5 million in its initial earnings as an independent company.

Shares of $The Star Entertainment Group Ltd (SGR.AU)$ fell 2.6% to 18 cents, reaching a record low after Macquarie analysts downgraded the company to an underperform rating.