The Australian share market has edged higher after incoming tariffs and concerns over a potential hung parliament made for a choppy day's trade.
The S&P/ASX200 gained 13 points on Friday, or 0.16 per cent, to 7,982, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 10 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 8,195.5.
It was the second week of gains for the benchmark index, up 0.7 per cent since last Friday, but it's still about eight per cent down from mid-February's 8,615.2 all-time high.
With markets already shaky ahead of next week's US "Liberation Day" tariffs, the announcement of a May 3 Federal election threw more unknowns into the mix.
"Latest polls suggest it's going to be a very close election and there's going to be five weeks of uncertainty now ahead of that," IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore told AAP.
"A hung parliament makes it trickier to get decisive policy through, and you might have to rely on your independents or Greens, who are not seen as particularly business-friendly."
With only Monday's session to go, the local bourse needs to rally more than 2.2 per cent to avoid a second consecutive month of losses, which has not happened since mid-2023.
It's also on track for second straight quarterly loss, which hasn't occurred since 2022.
Seven of 11 sectors finished higher in Friday, helping offset a more than 2 per cent bloodbath in IT stocks.
Embattled logistics technology company WiseTech sold off sharply, shedding more than 4 per cent, taking its total losses to more than 34 per cent since founder Richard White retook the reins of the company.
Earlier this week superannuation giant AustralianSuper announced it had unloaded its $580 million stake in the company over governance concerns.
Financials helped lift the bourse on Friday, up 0.5 per cent and the big four banks overcame a rocky session to finish on top.
The sector is more than 2 per cent higher than a week ago but still down almost 10 per cent from its peak in mid-February, when disappointing earnings prompted a banking sell-off.
Materials edged 0.4 per cent higher, with iron ore giants BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue eking out gains thanks to a 0.5 per cent lift in ore prices, but it was gold miners that continued to shine.
Northern Star, Newmont Corporation and Evolution Mining all rallied more than 2.8 per cent, after the precious metal hit a new peak of $US3,059.30/oz.
Energy stocks continued to move higher, up 0.8 and more than 2 per cent for the week.
Real estate stocks slipped 1.5 per cent and are down more than 4 per cent on a month ago with future policy uncertainty doing no favours for the sector.
The sector still has a long way to go as it continues its bounce from three-year lows plumbed earlier in March.
During Friday's session, the Australian dollar gave up about two-thirds of its weekly gains, and is buying 62.89 US cents, down from 63.13 US cents at 5pm on Thursday.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 13 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 7982.
* The broader All Ordinaries was down 10 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 8195.5.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 62.89 US cents, from 63.13 US cents on Wednesday
* 94.83 Japanese yen, from 94.81 Japanese yen
* 58.28 euro cents, from 58.56 euro cents
* 48.59 British pence, from 48.86 British pence
* 101.00 NZ cents, from 109.95 NZ cents.
