The market decline followed the daily NSW COVID-19 update where 644 new COVID cases were announced while the Greater Sydney lockdown will also be extended until the end of September.
At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 3.76 points, or 0.05%, to 7,460.87. The broader All Ordinaries dropped 10.15 points, or 0.13%, to 7,725.15. The market fell 2.2% across the five sessions.
Shares of materials and resources declined, with mining titan BHP down another 0.7 per cent to A$44.34, bringing its weekly decline to 16 per cent, as commodity prices came under pressure amid growth concerns and a regulatory crackdown in China. Rio Tinto (RIO) was slightly higher, rising 0.06% while Fortescue Metals (FMG) was 1.1% firmer. RIO finished down ~10.9% this week with FMG 8.7% lower
In company news, hearing implant maker Cochlear (COH) slid 7.4% on the release of its FY21 profit results even as the company turned a profit of A$326.5 million from A$238.2 million loss in the previous period.
CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.711, having declined from above $0.728 earlier in the week.
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