The Australian dollar has risen Friday, trading at 72.07 US cents up from yesterday’s 71.85 US cents.

The local currency was at 72.49 US cents on Wednesday.

One Australian dollar buys 76.19 Japanese yen up from yesterday’s 76.09 Japanese yen; 60.70 Euro cents from 60.54 Euro cents; 54.48 British pence from 54.88 British pence; and 110.23 NZ cents from 109.47 NZ cents.

Yesterday, Australian shares had their second worst session of August, with national airline Qantas reporting a $4 billion revenue hit from the Covid-19 crisis.

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark index closed lower by 47.6 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 6120.0 points on Thursday.

The All Ordinaries index fell 42.4 points, or 0.67 per cent, at 6271.7.

Blue Ocean Equities market portfolio strategist Mathan Somasundaram said overseas traders had sold off stocks as a risk-off mood developed in the US overnight.

The US dollar had inched higher against the Aussie.

“The global guys have been buying out our tech sector and health sector,” he said of gains in those ASX shares in recent days.

“But once the currency moves against you, they’ll tend to run out.”

He expected currency movements overnight would shape Friday’s market.

“Gold is rebounding which would suggest risk-off,” he said.

“I’d expect the Aussie dollar to be lower, and if that’s the case, I’d expect a down day tomorrow.”

Qantas reported an underlying profit before tax of $124 million for the 2019/20 financial year – a 90.6 per cent decline – compared to $1.33 billion the year before.

Its international flights are unlikely to restart before July 2021, although a trans-Tasman route could start earlier.

Qantas shares finished even at $3.76.

The energy and health sectors suffered the biggest declines, down 3.73 and 2.65 per cent respectively.

Origin reported full-year net profit after tax dropped 93 per cent to $83 million.

Its final unfranked dividend of 10 cents per share was down from the 2019 equivalent of 15 cents per share, fully franked.

Shares fell by 6.1 per cent to $5.54.

Santos declared a half-year net loss of $US289 million.

It also slashed its interim dividend to 2.1 US cents per share, fully franked, down from the 2019 interim payout of 6.0 US cents per share, fully franked.

Shares were down by 5.27 per cent to $5.57.

Medibank Private reported a 27.9 per cent drop in full-year net profit after anticipated widespread cancellations of elective surgery due to COVID-19 failed to eventuate.

Shareholders will receive a final dividend of 6.3 cents per share, fully franked, lower from the 7.4 cents per share paid in the 2019 equivalent.

Shares finished even at $2.86.

Meanwhile, Wesfarmers reported a $1.69 billion net profit, down 69 per cent from $5.51 billion for 2019.

This was partly due to $461 million in impairments including the troubled Target brand, restructuring Kmart operations and costs in its industrial and safety business.

Shareholders will receive a final dividend of 77 cents, and a special dividend of 18 cents from the sale of the group’s stake in Coles. 

Both are fully franked and lower than 2019 equivalents.

Wesfarmers’ shares lost 0.2 per cent to $48.78.

Also in the virus-routed travel sector, online bookings platform Webjet fell 12.5 per cent to $3.22.

It reported a full-year net loss of $143.6 million.

There will be no final dividend. There was a 2019 final dividend of $1.35, fully franked.

Major banks and miners were lower.

ANZ Bank dropped 1.18 per cent to $18.46, the Commonwealth slipped 1.1 per cent to $70.26, NAB shed 1.06 per cent to $17.70 and Westpac lost 0.8 per cent to $17.26.

BHP declined by 0.87 per cent to $38.72, Rio Tinto lagged by 0.41 per cent to $101.25 and Fortescue was down by 1.65 per cent to $17.86.

Meanwhile, Afterpay has notched another record high, $82.0, after the buy-now-pay-later firm raised its annual core earnings forecast and said Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group had taken a five per cent stake.

Shares had since eased to be 6.78 per cent higher to $79.98.

Wall Street finished lower overnight after the Federal Reserve raised concerns that the US economic recovery faced a highly uncertain path.