The S&PASX200 edged 3.6 points lower on Friday, down 0.04 per cent to 8,881.9, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 0.9 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 9.178.
The local market underperformed most of its peers for October, eking out a roughly 0.5 per cent gain as Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's KOSPI posted double-digit lifts and Wall Street's S&P500 and Nasdaq rallied to record highs.
"So that's a pretty dismal performance, given what's going on in the rest of the world," IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore told AAP.
Consumer discretionary and real estate stocks have been hammered this week, each down more than 4.5 per cent, as investors repriced their expectations for interest rate cuts after hotter-than-expected September quarter inflation figures.
"Some of these interest rate-sensitive stocks have run higher, looking for more rate cuts, and that's where I see there being a real headwind for quite a few of these sectors, be it property, consumer-facing stocks and so on," Mr Sycamore said.
"I'm still not ruling a more neutral monetary setting, but it won't be happening next week."
Seven of 11 local sectors improved on Friday, led by energy and communications stocks, while financials and raw materials also provided support as gold stocks rebounded.
Northern Star, Evolution and Newmont each surged more than three per cent after spot gold bounced, but the precious metal had again slipped below $US4000 ($A6,110) an ounce by the ASX close on Friday.
Iron ore giants Rio Tinto, BHP and Fortescue all softened in the last session, but locked in gains for the week on the back of iron ore and copper price strength.
Rare earths and critical minerals producers Lynas, Iluka and Liontown Resources caught a bid to round out a volatile fortnight for their respective segments, with trade deals, rumours and commodity price predictions sparking wild price action.
The big four banks were mixed on Friday, with Westpac and CBA pushing higher, while NAB traded flat and ANZ slipped 0.6 per cent after announcing a more than $1 billion hit to second-half earnings across several significant items.
The wider sector managed to scrape a 0.15 per cent gain for the week, despite shifting investor sentiment.
Turning to insurers, broker Steadfast tanked almost 10 per cent after announcing boss Robert Kelly would stand aside for an external investigation into a workplace complaint against him.
Energy stocks outperformed the bourse, up 0.6 per cent and 1.4 per cent for the week, buoyed by Woodside and uranium producers, after the US announced plans to boost its nuclear capacity.
The health care sector has lost more than eight per cent of its value since Monday, after investors dumped CSL shares to nearly seven-year lows after a second profit warning in as many months.
Mayne Pharma plummeted by almost a third on Friday after federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers flagged he would block US pharmaceutical giant Cosette's $672 million takeover bid for the company, citing risks to the economy.
Utilities stocks tumbled 1.1 per cent at the end of the week, tracking an even bigger slide in Origin's price after its quarterly update failed to impress.
The Australian dollar is buying 65.41 US cents, down from 65.92 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 fell 3.6 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 8,881.9
* The broader All Ordinaries lost 0.9 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 9,178
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 65.41 US cents, from 65.92 US cents on Thursday
* 100.68 Japanese yen, from 100.88 Japanese yen
* 56.54 euro cents, from 56.70 euro cents
* 49.74 British pence, from 49.89 British pence
* 114.28 NZ cents, from 113.98 NZ cents
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