SYDNEY — Australia's benchmark share index closed lower for a second consecutive session Friday, falling 38 points, or 0.44%, to 8,664.0, as a deepening global bond sell-off and continued strength in oil prices weighed on investor sentiment heading into next week's Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate decision.

The S&P/ASX 200 opened Friday at 8,757.80 before sliding through the morning session, dropping to 8,663 points by 10:30 a.m. local time. Of the index's 11 sectors, all but one traded lower, with the materials sector falling more than 1%. The decline followed a global bond market sell-off that pushed U.S. Treasury yields to multi-decade highs overnight, adding to concerns about inflation and the broader path of interest rates worldwide.

Friday's losses extended a sharper pullback recorded Thursday, when the ASX 200 fell 63.3 points, or 0.72%, to close at 8,702, with the broader All Ordinaries index down 0.66% to 8,897. Thursday's decline came as oil prices surged above $100 a barrel, compounding steep losses on Wall Street tied to continued selling in technology and artificial intelligence-linked stocks. The Australian dollar finished Thursday's session little changed at 70.38 U.S. cents. Market breadth was notably weak that day, with declining stocks outnumbering advancers by 695 to 376, and 386 stocks finishing unchanged.

Individual stock moves on Thursday reflected the broader market's uneven tone. Premier Investments, owner of........

© International Business Times