Updates to close
ASX200 ends Friday 1% lower
Falls 3.8% this week, worst drop since March 2025
Banks decline over 3% for the week, miners down 8.6%
NZ50 ends week 1.5% in the red
By Kumar Tanishk
March 6 (Reuters) - Australian shares logged their worst week in nearly a year on Friday, as an escalating conflict in the Middle East kept investors on edge, with losses in heavyweight banks and miners weighing on the index the most.
Investors flocked to cash with more than A$133 billion ($93.6 billion) in value evaporating from Australian equities this week as the Middle East war stoked inflation worries.
The S&P/ASX 200 .AXJO slipped 1% to 8,851 points on Friday, to end at its lowest closing point in a month. For the week, the benchmark lost 3.8%, marking its worst weekly performance since late March last year.
"A prolonged Middle East conflict primarily affects Australian equities and the broader economy through energy prices, logistical costs, and inflation expectations," Ajay Datt, managing director at fund manager Datt Capital, said.
Datt maintains a positive outlook on the Australian benchmark, citing "sound health of the underlying economy".
George Kurian, a portfolio manager at Oracle Investment Management, said "wars of moderate severity are always bullish for the market" as they "rarely create long-term economic damage".
U.S. President Donald Trump claimed the right to join Iran in deciding its next leader as the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran entered its sixth day.
In Australia, financials .AXFJ slipped 0.2% on Friday, with the 'Big Four' banks losing between 0.1% and 1.1%. The sub‑index fell 3.3% for the week to its weakest since November 10.
Miners .AXMM tumbled 8.6% in the week, their worst showing in three-and-a-half years. Tech stocks .AXIJ rose 4.6%, led by WiseTech WTC.AX and Siteminder SDR.AX, which advanced 10.8% and 13.1%, respectively.
BHP BHP.AX fell 4.2% after Reuters reported on Thursday, citing sources, that China's state-run iron ore buyer has widened restrictions on buying new seaborne iron ore cargoes from the world's largest listed miner.
New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.7% to 13,519.35 points, down 1.5% week-on-week.
($1 = 1.4215 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
((Tanishk.Kumar@thomsonreuters.com; X: @thatstanishk http://www.x.com/thatstanishk;))