End-of-day summary:
Aussie stocks edged to a one-week closing high as optimism over US-China trade talks offset pressure on pharmaceutical-makers after the White House pledged to cut the cost of prescriptions for Americans.
The ASX 200 slashed an opening 48-point rally to a closing gain of just two points or 0.03%.
Buyers' initial enthusiasm came as the White House and Beijing talked up progress in weekend trade negotiations. The White House announced it had a "deal", promising details tonight Australian time. The promise of a breakthrough was enough to send US stock futures up more than 1%.
The healthcare sector came under selling pressure after US President Donald Trump declared he would force drug-makers to offer Americans the cheapest price available to other nations. He promised Americans prescription prices would fall immediately by "30% to 80%".
The announcement triggered heavy falls for Australian biotechs. Telix Pharmaceutical, Clarity Pharmaceutical and Neuren Pharmaceutical all lost more than 8.5%.
