Markets Live: Banks power rally

5:03pm: Thats it for Markets Live for today and for the week.

You can read a wrap-up of the action on the markets here.

Thanks for reading and your comments.

Enjoy the weekend and see you all again Monday morning from 9.

5:02pm: A recovery in the big four banks helped the Australian sharemarket eke out a marginal gain for the week and snap a five-week losing streak.

For the week, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 rose just 4.8 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 5318.2, but the broader All Ordinaries slipped 1.2 points to 5315.4.

On Friday, the ASX200 lifted 0.4 per cent, or 20.5 points, while the All Ordinaries added 16.9 points, or 0.3 per cent.

Financials was one of the strongest performing sectors for the week, rising 1.1 per cent. Telecommunications was the leader, jumping 1.3 per cent.

The big banks have been a large drag on the sharemarket over the last few weeks, with all four entering a technical correction - down more than 10 per cent from their recent peaks.

"The banks were historically quite highly priced compared to their overseas peers, and there has been a lot of speculation in the pressure regarding new capital requirements, the RBA stepping in to cool the housing market, which has taken some of the gloss of the banks," BBY private client advisor Henry Jennings said.

Continued here:
Markets Live: Banks power rally