Shortly after noon on Friday the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 21.2 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 8,301.7, while the broader All Ordinaries had fallen 21.5 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 8,580.2.
With a few hours of trading left, the ASX200 was down 2.97 per cent since last Friday's close, with the week set to be the ASX's worst since a 3.9 per cent loss for the ending September 2, 2022.
In currency, the Australian dollar had climbed back over 64 US cents for the first time since December 10, buying 64.05 US cents, from 63.64 US cents at 5pm AEDT on Thursday.
The ASX's losses came even as three firms were buoyed by M&A activity.
Domain Holdings had soared 40.1 per cent as Nasdaq-listed CoStar Group, the owner of Homes.com, lobbed a $2.65 billion takeover offer for the property listing firm.
Nine Entertainment, which owns a 60 per cent stake in Domain, was up 22.9 per cent, while realestate.com.au owner REA Group had sunk 10.3 per cent on the prospect of its competitor getting a well-funded new owner.
Elsewhere, Mayne Pharma had soared 33.3 per cent after agreeing to be acquired by US-based Cosette Pharmaceuticals in a $672 million deal.
Telix Pharmaceuticals had soared 13.9 per cent after the radiopharmaceutical company beat guidance by posting $783 million in full-year revenue, up 56 per cent from a year ago.
QBE was up 5.7 per cent after the insurance company announced a full-year profit of $1.8 billion, up from $1.3 billion in 2023.
"We beat our plan for the year, continue to demonstrate greater resilience and are excited about our prospects for the year ahead," said group chief executive Andrew Horton.
Spark New Zealand had sunk 18.6 per cent as the country's leading telecommunications firm slashed its full-year guidance after a tough first half.
"When we updated the market in October, we outlined that we were experiencing one of the longest and deepest recessionary periods in recent history," said Spark chairwoman Justine Smyth.
"Since that time, we have seen no improvements in these conditions," with interest rate cuts failing to provide any boost to consumer or business spending.
Austal had climbed 16.8 per cent after the shipbuilder announced its half-year net profit had more than doubled to $25.1 million, and had record work in hand of $14.2 billion.
The big four banks were all in the red, with CBA falling 2.3 per cent, ANZ down 0.9 per cent, Westpac dropping 0.7 per cent and NAB dipping 0.3 per cent.
In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP had grown 2.5 per cent, Fortescue had climbed 3.7 per cent and Rio Tinto had advanced 3.4 per cent.
