The Australian sharemarket edged lower on Friday paring gains earlier in the week that pushed the bourse to set two record highs. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.1 per cent, or 8.1 points to 8436.2 at the closing bell, with seven of the 11 sectors in the red. The All Ordinaries were flat. On a weekly basis, the benchmark notched a 0.5 per cent gain. The step lower came after the index ended Thursday at a fresh record of 8444.
The falls come as economists from three Australian banks – ANZ, AMP and Bank of Queensland – push out their forecast for a first cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia to May, from February previously. Local shares took little direction from Wall Street as the US celebrated the Thanksgiving public holiday. US equity futures drifted higher, with the S&P 500 futures up 0.3 per cent heading into their final session of the week. Stocks in focus Web Travel advanced 4.9 per cent to $5.