At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.06 per cent lower at 7,298.50.
Among the 11 industry groups, four of them recorded declines.
Endeavour Group
(ASX:EDV), a company heavily reliant on the Victorian poker machine market, saw its shares plummet by 9.9% due to concerns over new poker machine reforms in Victoria. This decline in Endeavour Group shares had a negative impact on the consumer staples sector.
The energy sector also contributed to the ASX's decline as global oil prices dropped for a second consecutive day. The global benchmark Brent fell by 1.8% on Friday, approaching $US79 per barrel.
This decline affected energy-related stocks on the ASX, with Woodside Energy Group
(ASX:WPL) experiencing a 0.9% decrease, Santos
(ASX:STO) losing 1.8%, and Beach Energy
(ASX:BPT) dropping by 1%.
FuturesThe Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 40 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 4 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 11 points.
The SPI futures are down 8 points.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector was Information Technology, up 0.88 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Energy, down 0.81 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Yancoal Australia
(ASX:YAL), closing 4.40 per cent higher at $4.98. It was followed by shares in Medibank Private
(ASX:MPL) and Whitehaven Coal
(ASX:WHC).
The worst-performing large cap was Endeavour Group
(ASX:EDV), closing 9.90 per cent lower at $5.64. It was followed by shares in IGO
(ASX:IGO) and Liontown Resources
(ASX:LTR).
Asian marketsJapan's Nikkei has lost 0.09 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has gained 0 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has lost 0.18 per cent.
Company newsThe Calmer Co. International
(ASX:CCO) announced a record Q4 sales figure, up 80% compared to the Q3. This is largely due to deals with CJ Patel, RooLife and Amazon USA. Shares closed flat at 0.3 cents.
DroneShield
(ASX:DRO) has received a record $33 million order from a U.S. Government agency. The award consists of DroneShield equipment and multi-year services. Shares closed 17 per cent higher at 31 cents.
Sovereign Metals
(ASX:SVM) announced that Rio Tinto
(ASX:RIO) is set to invest $40.1 million and become a 15% strategic investor. Chairman Ben Stoikovich commented: “The experience and expertise that Rio Tinto brings will truly set Kasiya apart as a potentially globally significant supply of two critical minerals and take us all a step closer to supply chain decarbonisation.” Shares closed 8.08 per cent higher at 53.5 cents.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1,957.00 an ounce.
Iron ore is 3.6 per cent higher at US$115.80 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.7 per cent fall.
Light crude is trading $0.98 lower at US$74.43 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 68.07 US cents.
