Warrego Energy’s stock fell 4.6 per cent following news that Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart had waived all conditions in her bid to buy the Western Australian gas explorer. Rinehart hopes the move will lock in the support of key shareholders amid a takeover tussle with rival suitor Strike Energy.

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Information technology stocks lost their fizz on Friday following Wall Street’s lead where IT stocks have been some of the most unstable. Accounting software maker Xero, one of the best performing stocks on Thursday, was one of the biggest losers of the morning in large cap stocks, down 1.9 per cent. Meanwhile, logistics software outfit WiseTech Global slipped 1.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, owner of Michel’s Patisserie and Gloria Jeans, Retail Food Group, will fork out $10 million to its franchisees for alleged improper use of marketing funds and for failing to disclose that the stores being sold to some franchisees were loss-making. However, the stock seemed resilient to the news, climbing 10.1 per cent by close.

Financials also struggled to move out of the red, with big and small banks alike trading down. The Commonwealth Bank was the hardest hit, falling 0.8 per cent along with Suncorp Group which fell 0.9 per cent.

Overnight, the S&P 500 closed 1.4 per cent lower after being down as much as 2.9 per cent in early trading. The Nasdaq fell 2.2 per cent and the Dow gave up 1 per cent. Employers laid off fewer workers than anticipated last week and the economy grew more strongly in the summer than expected.

Usually, good data on the economy would be positive for markets, particularly when worries are high about a possible recession looming. But Thursday’s reports suggested the Federal Reserve may indeed follow through on its pledge to keep hiking interest rates and to hold them at a high level for a while in order to get inflation under control.

High-growth technology stocks have taken some of the year’s worst hits because they’re seen as some of the most vulnerable to rising rates.

The housing industry and other areas of the economy whose fortunes are closely tied to low interest rates have already shown sharp downturns. But consumer confidence has strengthened recently, offering hope for the biggest and most important part of the economy: consumer spending.

Inflation has been moderating since peaking in the US summer, which at times has raised hopes on Wall Street that the Fed may back off its tough talk on interest rates. But Fed officials continue to hammer the message that they’ll hike rates further in 2023 and don’t envision a cut to rates before 2024.

The Fed has already hiked its key overnight rate up to its highest level in 15 years, after it began the year at a record low of roughly zero. That has a growing number of economists and investors are predicting a recession will hit the U.S. economy in 2023.

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“You can’t repair this relationship without lines of communication. It’s still early days and businesses are realistic about how challenging it is to manage this relationship,” said Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott as Australia and China work to re-establish ties and resume economic dialogue.