The S&P/ASX 200 index eased 4 points on Friday at 5983, trimming the week's gains to 25 points, or 0.4 per cent. The All Ordinaries index mimicked those moves to close at 6063 points.

Iron ore was the standout performer in the commodities space this week, having jumped 8 per cent by Thursday evening when the spot price of 62 per cent ore was set at $US67.69. That brought the month's gains to an impressive 16 per cent. Miners Rio Tinto added 1.7 per cent over the week to $72.10, while BHP climbed 3.1 per cent to $27.97. Fortescue Metals, however, failed to lift with the bulk commodity, losing 1.5 per cent over the week to $4.64. South32 jumped 3.6 per cent to $3.42.

Sentiment around the listed energy sector continued to firm through the week, alongside a 1.1 per cent lift in the Brent crude oil price to $US63.40 a barrel. Origin Energy added 4.9 per cent to $8.58 and Woodside Petroleum added 2.2 per cent to $31.46.

Blood plasma firm CSL was one of the week's biggest boosts to the market, as it added 3.1 per cent to $146.55.

Restraining the bourse's gains were the major banks. Narrowing differentials between long-term and short-term bond yields in the United States was a talking point among analysts and economists, who fret that it is a sign of a weakening economy. The flattening of the Australian yield curve weighed on shares in the Big Four, as investors factored in the potential for narrower lending margins. Talk of a Parliamentary enquiry into the banking sector further soured the mood. ANZ Bank was the worst performer, dropping 2.1 per cent over the five days to $28.85, while CBA was the best but still eased 0.5 per cent to $80.51.

Asian shares hovered below their 10-year peak on Friday while mainland Chinese shares dropped to three-month lows after big falls the previous day on concerns about fresh government steps to curb financial risks and a rout in the Chinese bond market.

The Australian dollar recovered close to a US cent through the week after Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe in a speech on Tuesday night reiterated that the next move in rates would be up, although he gave no indication that it would be in the near future and most economists continue to expect a lengthy period of no action.

Selling in the greenback following US Federal Reserve board meeting minutes released early Thursday morning provided further impetus for the Aussie, which ended the week up 0.8 per cent at US76.3?? in late Friday trade.

In corporate news, beleaguered bottler Coca-Cola Amatil shed 4 per cent over the five days after shareholders were left unimpressed by a trading update. The stock closed at $7.67.

Stock watch

Mineral Resources

Shares in the mineral crushing services company rocketed 16 per cent higher to $20.23 on Friday after Morgan Stanley increased its price target on the shares to $22.30. Investors were pleased with the mining services company's annual general meeting where management maintained "a minimum" earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation estimate of $500 million for the year, with key drivers of earnings to be iron ore exports, which are expected to be 1 million tonnes higher than last year, the company's crushing operations and lithium exports.Investors are also reacting to Bloomberg data which shows sales of battery-powered electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids exceeded 287,000 units during the quarter. This was an impressive 63 per cent increase on the prior corresponding period and 23 per cent higher from the second-quarter of 2017.

What moved the market

Oil

US crude oil hit fresh two-year highs on Friday, as the shutdown of a major crude pipeline from Canada to the United States tightened North American markets. Trading activity is expected to be very low on Friday due to the US Thanksgiving holiday. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $US58.37 a barrel at market close, up 35 cents, or 0.6 per cent from their last settlement. They reached a high of $US58.58 a barrel early on Friday, the highest level since July 1, 2015. Brent crude futures dipped to $US63.35, down 20 cents or 0.3 per cent. The closure of the 590,000 barrels per day (bpd) Keystone pipeline following a spill last week has helped drive up US crude as it reduces stocks in the storage hub of Cushing, Oklahoma, traders said.

Webjet

Investors crucified Webjet this week after the online travel agency revealed a disappointing forecast of 14 per cent earnings growth. Webjet said it is on track to deliver earnings of $80 million in the 2017/18 financial year, up from $69.9 million in the prior year. The share price was down 20 per cent to $9.49 for the week, with a 12 per cent slump mid-week. Commsec market analyst Steve Daghlian said Webjet's earnings guidance was "a little short" of the $89 million the market had expected. "That's about an 11 per cent drop on their prior analyst expectations," Mr Daghlian said. The company's earnings guidance includes $5.6 million of impacts from business acquisitions, the introduction of an Australian tax on services from overseas, and additional costs in its hotel agreement with European holiday company Thomas Cook.

Iron ore

Iron ore prices are on course to post their biggest weekly increase in about five months as stronger Chinese steel prices spurred gains in the raw material, with coking coal also outperforming. Chinese iron ore futures rose marginally to hit a nine-week high on Friday while spot iron ore prices also climbed to their strongest level since September on Thursday. "With steel futures in China continuing to rise, physical iron ore traders appear to be happy to chase prices higher for the moment," ANZ analysts said in a note. The most-actively traded iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was up 0.3 per cent at $US77 a tonne. The contract has gained 9 per cent so far this week, the most since end-June.

Asian shares

Shares around the region were largely higher following Thursday's sharp drop in mainland Chinese shares. Losses on the Shanghai bourse were more contained on Friday, down 0.7 per cent after a 2.3 per cent drop the session before. Japan's Nikkei share average was scratching out a small gain in late trade after exporters such as automakers were sold. Mitsubishi Materials was in the headlines which prompted a selloff, after the company said its subsidiaries falsified data.