the COB: 50 weeks to go

After beginning brightly, the S&P/ASX200 lost momentum in the afternoon to finish down 0.03% at 8,717.80, leaving the index little changed for the week.

The major banks led the losses with heavyweight Macquarie down 1.4%, along with ANZ dropping 0.6%

Rio Tinto was the biggest individual drag on the broader index after confirming that the miner is in merger talks with the Anglo-Swiss commodity and mining company Glencore. The Australian-listed iron ore miner plummeted 6.3% over the day's trade.

Elsewhere in the materials sector, Champion Iron resumed rail services following a derailment from its Canadian mine. Despite this, the iron ore producer dropped 0.6%.

The energy sector made a comeback on renewed concerns over Venezuelan oil supply. Woodside rose 2.8%.

Defence stocks were heavily traded after President Trump said he'll look to boost US military spending to $US1.5 trillion. DroneShield shares surged 4.4%, while shipbuilder Austal rose 3.3%.

In company news, Mesoblast’s revenue from its Ryoncil treatment jumped two thirds over the December quarter, sending its stock price 4% higher.

While in the tech sector, losses of 0.5% were recorded despite Codan’s earnings forecast jumping 52% on the back of strong growth and communications, with its share price climbing 17%.

Overnight, markets will be watching the US nonfarm payrolls numbers for clues to the Fed's next moves on interest rates.