Thanks afternoon crew. End-of-day summary: A solid initial...

Thanks afternoon crew.

End-of-day summary:

A solid initial Australian share rally lost momentum as Chinese markets made a lacklustre return to action following the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.

The ASX 200 slashed a 25-point opening advance to seven points or 0.09% at the close. The materials sector, which set the early running, more than halved its gain as iron ore prices declined 0.2% in China and 3% in Singapore. Oil also turned lower.

Mainland Chinese stocks rose when trade resumed, but not by enough to match gains on Hong Kong and US exchanges across the holiday period. The Shanghai Composite firmed 0.9%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index reversed 1%.

Here, trading updates lifted A2 Milk and Reliance Worldwide. Takeover interest from Seven Group raised Boral 4.62%. A rebound in lithium miners lifted Sayona Mining and Liontown Resources.

US stocks finished lower on Friday heading into the President's Day long weekend. The S&P 500 shed 0.48% as a jump in wholesale prices added to concerns that inflation may not be falling fast enough to justify interest rate cuts before the second half of the year.