Australian shares post worst weekly performance since mid-January

Australian shares rose 0.4 percent on Friday led by financials, resources and energy-related shares as bargain hunters emerged after three straight sessions of losses. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 24.4 points to 5,814.4 at the close of trade but posted its worst weekly performance since mid-January. It fell 2 percent during the week.
The index fell 1.7 percent in April for the second straight month of losses and posted its worst monthly performance since last November weighed by falling iron ore prices while nerves over next week's Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) interest rate policy meeting have kept banks under pressure. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.1 percent or 6 points to finish the session at 5,797.4.
The index fell for the second straight month in April and posted its worst monthly performance since last November weighed by falling iron ore prices while nerves over next week's Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) interest rate policy meeting have kept banks under pressure. "If the last few days of April is anything to go by, it's looking like a case of sell in May and go away," said Adam Halantas, Head of Equity Analysis at Australian Stock Report.
"Sentiment towards the banks has turned negative in recent days, hurting the wider market sentiment." Since the RBA cut its cash rate to 2.25 percent in February the ASX benchmark has been moving in a 5,750-5,996 range, failing four times to breach the 6,000-points barrier. Analysts expect the market to head back towards the bottom of that band if the RBA keeps rates steady on Tuesday.
Data from China, which showed the country's manufacturing activity grew slightly, helped revive sentiment. China is Australia's No 1 trading partner. On Friday, the major banks were back in black with Westpac and ANZ up about 0.6 percent. Major miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto rose about 2 percent. Fortescue Metals surged 6.5 percent after Australia's competition watchdog said it won't pursue the miner over its call to cap iron ore output. New Zealand's Spark, the country's largest telecommunication services provider, fell 0.8 percent.