The S&P/ASX200 ground 24.3 points lower on Friday, down 0.28 per cent to 8.807.1, as the broader All Ordinaries fell 25.4 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 9,076.6.
The top 200 was up about 1.7 per cent for the week, but has struggled since soaring to a new intraday peak of 8,848.8 on Wednesday and finds itself in sync with other global indexes hovering close to their peak, including Wall Street's S&P500, the Nasdaq and London's FTSE.
"Share markets are at risk of a correction through the seasonally weak months of August and September, given stretched valuations and risks around US tariffs and US debt and likely weaker growth and profits," AMP deputy economist Diana Mousina said.
Only four sectors finished significantly higher on Friday, led by the raw materials sector, which rallied 1.4 per cent and was the week's best performer with a more than five per cent lift.
Iron ore giants BHP (up .08 per cent), Fortescue (up 1.8 per cent) and Rio Tinto (up 1.1 per cent) finished the week strongly along with Australian goldminers, with support from commodity prices.
Gold is knocking on the door of new highs, trading about $US3,495 ($A5,360) an ounce as risk-off sentiment continues to draw investors to the haven, helping WA-headquartered Northern Star slingshot more than 18 per cent higher since last week.
Consumer discretionary stocks faded but were up almost four per cent since Monday, while the financial sector weighed on the bourse, slipping 1.1 per cent and wiping out most of its weekly gains.
All big four banks were in the red on Friday, with the Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac each shedding about 0.9 per cent.
Insurers also sold off, led by an 8.8 per cent slump in QBE, after some analysts questioned the inclusion of previous years' reserves in its half-year result.
The strong performance in consumer discretionaries was underpinned by Bunnings and Kmart owner Wesfarmers, up 6.7 per cent for the week after a five-session winning streak.
The group will release its full-year earnings at the end of August.
Energy stocks are up 2.5 per cent for the week despite a net decrease in oil prices as Whitehaven and Santos edged higher.
Coal producers also did some heavy lifting for the sector, with Yancoal up more than seven per cent since Monday to $6.66, thanks in part to better-than-expected coal export data earlier in the week.
Healthcare stocks have continued to struggle amid concerns about incoming US tariffs on pharmaceuticals, slipping 2.5 per cent in two sessions.
The Australian dollar is roughly flat against the greenback, buying 65.25 US cents, down from 65.24 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.
Forex traders at NAB have trimmed their price 2025 target for the Aussie from 70 US cents to 68 US cents.
"The view is still that the US dollar is in for a cyclical decline there, but it's just taking a little bit longer," NAB's head of market economics Tapas Strickland said.
Next week will likely be a huge one for markets, with a Reserve Bank interest rate cut expected on Tuesday, key labour data due on Thursday and a host of company earnings including CBA, Telstra, JB Hi-Fi, Origin, AGL and IAG.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Friday lost 24.3 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 8,807.1
* The broader All Ordinaries edged 25.4 points lower, or 0.28 per cent, to 9,076.6
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 65.25 US cents, from 65.24 US cents on Thursday
* 96.13 Japanese yen, from 95.81 Japanese yen
* 56.01 euro cents, from 55.87 euro cents
* 48.59 British pence, from 48.78 British pence
* 109.49 NZ cents, from 109.53 NZ cents
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