The S&P/ASX200 edged 14.7 points higher on Friday, up 0.17 per cent, to 8,787.7, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 15.8 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 9,079.2.
With the exception of Wednesday's sharp sell-off it was a quiet week for the top-200, which closed roughly 15 points higher.
Caution from the US Federal Reserve and a hotter-than-expected local inflation had investors recalibrating their expectations for interest rate cuts into year-end.
While markets may have overreacted to the partial consumer price index data, it raised questions about whether the Reserve Bank had doused the flames of inflation in Australia, Capital.com market analyst Kyle Rodda said.
"The markets aren't now fully pricing-in a rate cut until the start of next year, even though we have got this sort of deterioration of the labour market," he told AAP.
"So that's been one of the reasons we've been quite down on momentum in the ASX 200 this week with the exception of Wednesday."
The materials segment rose more than five per cent during the week on the back of strong gold and copper prices, while energy (+1.4 per cent) and utilities stocks (+0.3 per cent) also managed to carve out gains since Monday's open.
Four of the 11 local sectors closed higher on Friday, with the heavyweight financials, up 0.5 per cent and mining stocks, up 0.9 per cent, responsible for the positive finish.
BHP and Rio Tinto each surged more than six per cent each for the week, thanks in part to a rally in copper prices after a landslide in Indonesia prompted a major supply disruption.
Silver topped a 14-year high as gold loomed roughly one per cent below its fresh record of $US3,791 ($A5,800) an ounce set on Tuesday.
Health care stocks tumbled 1.4 per cent ( down 2.6 per cent for the week) after US President Donald Trump announced his 100 per cent tariffs on branded or patented pharmaceuticals.
Shares in blood plasma giant CSL fell 1.9 per cent, while Telix Pharmaceuticals and Mesoblast each tumbled more than three per cent despite assuring shareholders they were exempt from the tariffs.
Cryptocurrencies continued to sell off this week, with Bitcoin down almost seven per cent since last Friday to $US109,450 ($A167,465) and roughly 12 per cent down from August's all-time highs, hinting investor appetite for risk could be fading.
"I think it's sending some alarms potentially that sentiment is starting to turn," Mr Rodda said.
"There is this tendency for crypto to be a bit of a leading indicator for where stocks go next, so it might be a bit of a 'watch this space' kind of moment."
The Australian dollar is buying 65.36 US cents, slipping from 65.93 since Thursday at 5pm after US economic growth showed signs of resilience, softening the case for interest rate cuts.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 rose 14.7 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 8,787.7
* The broader All Ordinaries gained 15.8 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 9,079.2
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 65.36 US cents, from 65.93 US cents on Thursday
* 97.88 Japanese yen, from 98.11 Japanese yen
* 55.97 euro cents, from 56.15 euro cents
* 48.91 British pence, from 48.98 British pence
* 113.33 NZ cents, from 113.30 NZ cents
8°C