The Australian market ended the week on a flat note, despite mostly weaker international markets overnight.

In the US, data showed that weekly jobless claims fell to 359,000 last week, with the level a bit higher than expected.

Also, the Commerce Department reported that US real gross domestic product for the fourth quarter rose at a 3.0% annualized rate, unrevised from an earlier estimate.

In Europe, jobless numbers in Germany fared much better than the US, with the total number of unemployed falling by 18,000 compared to a forecast of 10,000.

Turning back locally, the sectors finished with 7 out of 12 in negative territory. Consumer staples were one of best performing segments, whilst energy and a-reits were among the worst.

The big four banks were generally weaker; Westpac was the only exception up 0.1%.

NAB and ANZ closed down 1.6% and 0.9% respectively.

The mining majors were stronger despite falling commodity prices; BHP added 1.1%, whilst rival Rio Tinto jumped 1.6%

Energy stocks continued to tumble as oil prices declined: Santos dropped 1.2%, while Woodside let go of 1.4%.

Aquila Resources climbed 3.1% after announcing drilling at the newly discovered Haakdoorn and Gravenhage South Manganese prospects has a resource total of 28.2 million tonnes.

The ASX 200 slipped three points to close at 4335.

Overall the market had a strong week, up 1.5%.

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Evening Market Analysis: Afternoon Fade is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog