The Australian share market is expected to struggle to maintain the record-breaking pace of the past fortnight next week as profit taking hits the buoyant resources sector, dealers said Friday.
Reynolds and Co private client advisor Michael Heffernan said the market had enjoyed a strong but profit taking could emerge when a new financial quarter begins on Monday. "You might say there was some end of the quarter activity so come Monday we might see a slightly different story," Heffernan said.
For the week ending March 31 the benchmark SP/ASX 200 rose 89.6 points or 1.78 percent to a record 5,129.7 points following on from the previous week where the index pushed through 5,000 points for the first time. CMC Markets senior dealer James Foulsham agreed, saying there was the possibility of a short term correction in the coming month.
Nomura Australia equity markets strategist Eric Betts said the market's fundamentals remained strong but the extent of the recent gains meant some investors would be tempted to cash in their profits.
"I think we are probably in for a bit of profit taking, but the medium to long term trend is still up in our opinion," he said.