Australian shares closed slightly lower on Friday, as heavy losses in mining and energy stocks and a dramatic plunge in buy now, pay later company Zip outweighed gains in banks and consumer stocks after a sharp technology sell-off on Wall Street.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 13.1 points, or 0.15%, to close at 8,780.1. The benchmark had been down as much as 0.4% around midday before recovering some ground in afternoon trading.

The session was marked by a sharp divide between sectors.

Materials stocks were the biggest drag, falling more than 3% at one point, as iron ore and gold prices weakened. Energy stocks dropped about 2%, while information technology shares also fell about 2%, tracking losses among technology companies in the United States.

On the other side, defensive and domestic sectors attracted buyers. Financials rose about 1%, consumer discretionary stocks gained more than 1% and telecommunications shares also advanced.

"Money is shifting into safer sectors, such as health care, insurers and consumer staples," said Tapas Strickland of Moomoo Australia and New Zealand, describing the broader trend in global markets.

Zip Co. was the standout loser, with shares falling as much as 50.5% to A$1.025, a two-and-a-half-year low and the biggest intraday drop in the company's history. The stock recovered some of those losses later in the day but still traded down about 27% to 30% in the afternoon.

The sell-off........

© International Business Times