SYDNEY: Australia shares ended higher on Friday but posted their first weekly loss in four as the country’s soft growth data dampened hopes of an early rate cut and volatility in commodity-related stocks weighed on sentiment.

The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 1% lower for the week. It, however ended 0.3% higher on Friday reflecting underlying strength in financials.

Australia reported its June quarter gross domestic product numbers on Wednesday, which showed persisting economic weakness amid stiff borrowing costs and high inflation, depressing investor hopes of an early interest rate cut by the local central bank.

The banking sub-index, which rallied 1.3% for the day, closed the week higher amid expectations of a high interest rate environment. The “Big Four” banks gained between 1.2% and 1.5% on Friday.

“The banks are expected to continue benefiting from a high-interest rate environment as the Reserve Bank of Australia reaffirmed over the week that it is not yet ready to shift policy,” said Hebe Chen, market analyst at IG.

Financial conglomerate Macquarie was one of the top gainers on the benchmark and has lifted its market value by 4.3% for the week after announcing plans to sell data centre operator AirTrunk to Blackstone in a A$24 billion ($16.16 billion) deal on Wednesday.