Australian shares snapped a three-session run that had them tracking toward all-time highs, but still managed to log a positive week. With broad losses outside the resources space, the S&P/ASX 200 settled down 0.4% at 6793.4, but 1.4% stronger over the week.
Financials and IT stocks led the day’s losses, with the heavily weighted big banks eating into gains the last couple of days. The financials subindex, while down 0.7% today, helped buoy the market this week with a 1.8% advance. Still, miners BHP, Rio Tinto, and Fortescue recovered some of the ground lost in the last few sessions as iron ore
prices strengthened. 

U.S. stocks rose to fresh closing highs after reassuring economic data and a set of strong earnings reports.
Stocks and U.S. government bond prices notched gains after data released early Friday showed that the gross domestic product grew at a 2.1% annual rate in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said, narrowly above the 2% expected by economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The figure was boosted by U.S. shoppers. Consumer spending, which makes up more than two-thirds of the economy, recorded the strongest pace of growth since late 2017.

U.S. stocks advanced their records this week as the latest batch of second-quarter earnings trickled in. Analysts said the strength of the U.S. consumer, evident in some of the latest financial results, helped nudge stocks higher. More than two-thirds of S&P 500 companies that have reported so far have beat earnings per share estimates, according to FactSet.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, lifted by its communication services sector, and closed at a record. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.1%, also set a fresh closing high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose the least on a percentage basis of the big three U.S. benchmarks.
The blue-chip average rose 51 points.

Alphabet’s shares jumped 10.5% in trading Friday after it reported strong profit, making it one of the biggest gainers in the S&P 500, along with Twitter. The tech behemoth was on track for its biggest percentage jump since July 2015, a jump adding at least $82 billion to its market value. Twitter gained 9.7% after it reported strong user and revenue growth in its second quarter.
Amazon.com fell about 1.8% in recent trading after its earnings report brought an end to its record quarterly profit streak.

Some investors warned that several factors could still derail the recent stock rally, even as the S&P 500 was on track to hit its 13th consecutive record of the year on Friday. U.S. trade talks with China are continuing and failure to reach an agreement on tariffs could put halt the stock market’s recent climb.

Gold futures settled modestly higher, after briefly dipping, following the first estimate of second-quarter U.S. gross domestic product, which indicated the economy was healthy but slowing and might still warrant an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
August gold gained $4.60, or 0.3%, to $1,419.30 an ounce, but put in a weekly loss of 0.5% based on last Friday’s settlement for the most-active contract. Gold futures snapped a string of two consecutive weekly gains.
GDP, the official report card on the economy, grew at a 2.1% annual pace from the start of April to the end of June, the government said Friday. Economic growth slowed from a 3.1% gain in the first three months of the year. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 1.9% GDP reading.

Oil futures flipped between small gains and losses, with crude posting a modest weekly gain as traders continue to fret over prospects for demand growth.
West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 18 cents, or 0.3%, to end at $56.20 a barrel, leaving the U.S. benchmark with a 0.8% weekly rise. October Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 11 cents, or 0.2%, to end at $63.37 a barrel on the ICE Europe exchange, posting a 1.5% rise for the week.

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White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told CNBC that the administration had ruled out intervening in currency markets after a meeting of cabinet officials and economic advisers.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, was up 0.17% at 97.99, leaving it up 0.9% for the week and nearly 2% so far this month. The euro was off 0.2% versus the dollar at $1.112, near a two-year low, after the European Central Bank on Thursday signaled it is prepared to cut rates as early as September and opened the door to additional stimulus measures, including renewed asset purchases.
The British pound fell 0.6% to $1.2380, in danger of plumbing territory last seen in April 2017 as fears the U.K. could crash out of the European Union without a deal governing its relationship with the bloc have increased following hard-line Brexiteer Boris Johnson becoming prime minister this week after winning the Conservative Party leadership contest.

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The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.3%, led by gains in its media and food and beverage sectors.
The U.K.’s Pearson soared 6% after the world’s biggest publisher of textbooks reported better-than-expected earnings and boosted its forecast. Nestlé climbed more than 2% after the Swiss food giant posted higher first-half sales.
Europe’s basic-resources sector was weighed down by miner Anglo American, which saw its shares fall almost 5% Friday after its biggest investor said it would sell its stake in the business.
Sopra Steria, an information technology consulting firm, was one of the biggest risers with a gain of 14% after it reported strong first-half earnings. Signify, a Dutch lighting manufacturer, suffered the biggest loss of 8% after it missed its second-quarter revenue expectations.

Asian stocks wavered, with stocks in Shanghai up 0.2% and Japan’s Nikkei down 0.5%.
Carmaker Nissan’s shares dropped 3.2% Friday after the company said Thursday it would cut 9% of its global workforce following a profit drop in the latest quarter.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended 0.7% lower at 28397.74. Shares of drugmakers ended their rally from the prior day, with CSPC Pharm and Sino Biopharm shares losing 2.0% and 1.5%, respectively. Index heavyweight AIA Group fell 1.6%. Consumer stocks were also among major decliners for the day, with Want Want China and China Mengniu Dairy each shedding around 1.5%.
Indian shares close slightly higher, snapping a six-session losing streak. The BSE Sense gains 0.1% to end at 37882.79 with gainers slightly outnumbering losers. Yes Bank and Bajaj Finance rebounded from losses in the prior day.
Singapore shares close 0.5% lower, weighed by property and banking stocks. The Straits Times Index closes at 3363.76, ending the week down 0.4%. Suntec REIT fell 1.5% after its 2Q distribution per unit slipped 4.6% from a year ago.
Malaysia’s stocks close at a six-week low, with sentiment dented by the European Central Bank’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged.