ASX 200 drops 0.3% on the day, 3% for the week
Banks log biggest one-week slide since March, 2020
Domain surges 40% on takeover bid; rival REA falls
Guzman y Gomez top ASX loser as results miss view
Updates to close
By Sherin Sunny
Feb 21 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed lower on Friday, rounding off their worst week in nearly two-and-a-half years as banking stocks went on a seven-session losing streak that was exacerbated by the central bank's first rate cut in five years.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.3% lower at 8,296.2 points on the day. It tumbled 3% this week, its biggest such drop since September 2022.
Financial stocks slid 1.3% on the day, falling more than 1% for the fourth straight session since the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) , threatening margins already under pressure from intense competition. Earlier this week, Westpac reported for the quarter.
The financial index has tumbled 7.5% in the past five sessions, its worst week since March 2020. It hit a record high last week before embarking on a seven-session slide in which it has lost 7.7%.
"We see further risk to share prices as valuations remain high (with) earnings risks from rate cuts reflected in margins and potential capital outflows," Macquarie analysts said.
Another laggard on the day was the consumer discretionary index , which fell 1.5%.
At one end, property classifieds firm Domain Holdings surged 40% after a from U.S.-based CoStar .
Domain was the top gainer on the all-ordinaries index and also hauled up controlling shareholder Nine Entertainment by 20%.
On the flip side, Domain's rival REA dropped 11.4% and was one of the top losers on the benchmark ASX 200, while its controlling shareholder News Corp's Australia-listed shares lost 6.5%.
Mexican fast-food chain Guzman y Gomez tumbled 14.3%, the most on the ASX 200 and also dragged on consumer stocks, after its first-half underlying .
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index closed 1% lower at 12,752.58.
(Reporting by Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru)
((Sherin.Sunny@thomsonreuters.com [Sherin.Sunny@thomsonreuters.com]))
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