The ASX started strong, took a sharp dive on news of US military strikes on a Syrian airbase, but entirely recovered to its starting position to end Friday narrowly in the black. 

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1 per cent to 5862.5, ending the week effectively flat, down by less than 2 index points. The broader All Ordinaries index also added 0.1 per cent on Friday, which was also its total gain over the week.

The air strike was announced after the close of US markets, but reverberated through US futures, which were down 0.2 per cent by the end of the Australian trading session to point to a slightly lower open on Wall Street.

AMP head of investment strategy and chief economist Shane Oliver wasn't surprised to see the market shrug off the military strike.

"[It] does add a bit of short-term uncertainty but we have seen such events in the past and the impact usually proves short lived," he said. "This is likely to be the case again, particularly as it's unlikely to signal increased US involvement in the war in Syria."

Atlas Funds Management chief investment officer Hugh Dive said while the strike clearly caused some initial sell-offs, its impact was ultimately "sort of benign". The big four banks initially fell but ended the day flat, with the exception of NAB which closed down 0.4 per cent. 

"I think the market's looking for a bit of an excuse to pull back, but this is not it," Mr Dive said. "If you take a step back, there's very limited impact on the ASX, and on Australian earnings."

Investors were repositioning ahead of bank earning season in May, when the big banks were expected to do well, said Mr Dive. "That's why we've seen a lot of strength in stocks around the market."

The big banks ended between 1.3 per cent and 2.6 per cent lower for the week, reversing some of the previous week's strong gains after the banking regulator hinted at higher capital requirements.

Iron ore prices had fallen over the past two weeks, but the impact on the big miners had so far been minimal, Mr Dive remarked.

"The trajectory is down from here."

BHP closed up 2.3 per cent over the week, though it lost 0.3 per cent on Friday. Rio Tinto fell 0.7 per cent over the five sessions, while Fortescue Metals lost 1.9 per cent over the week.

Geopolitical tension in Syria was good for Woodside Petroleum, which added 1.3 per cent on Friday and 2.8 per cent over the week. Santos gained 2.9 per cent on Friday and 1.3 per cent over the week. AGL Energy added 2.6 per cent on Friday, and 4.7 per cent over the week.

Gold hit $US1263.75 an ounce, its highest level in five months, pushing the All Ordinaries Gold Index up 2.9 per cent on Friday. It rose for five straight sessions, up 9.1 per cent over the week.

Meanwhile, Seek shares rose 2,5 per cent on Friday to hit a seven-month high, after the jobs portal finalised moves to privatise its successful Chinese jobs portal Zhaopin and delist it from the New York Stock Exchange.

Stock watch: The Reject Shop

Shares in The Reject Shop plunged 35.5 per cent to $5.11, the biggest daily fall in three years, after the discount variety store chain warned its full-year profit will drop by almost a third. The Reject Shop said the weak trading conditions flagged in its half year results released in February have continued across its stores in all states and it now expects a full-year profit of about $12.5 million - compared to $17.1 million in 2015-16. The company also warned that it may not be able to declare a final dividend in 2016-17. The Reject Shop's managing director Ross Sudano blamed a tough retail environment and "execution issues" with the group's merchandising strategy for the weak sales performance.

Oil soars

After tepid trading early on Friday, Brent crude oil futures jumped 1.3 per cent to $US55.60 a barrell.  US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 1.4 per cent to $US52.40 a barrel. "Syria is not a big oil producer but it does potentially increase the risk of escalation in the whole region," said CMC chief market analyst Ric Spooner. "We're seeing a risk response to the airstrike. Given rising supply, the size of inventories and the extent of the pick up in shale output, it does seem likely that price gains will be capped."

Australian dollar

The Australian dollar hit a one-month low of US75.17c in the wake of the US missile strikes. "High yield currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars are classic barometers of risk and, right now, investors are having none of it," said ThinkMarkets senior market analyst Matt Simpson. The yen, a favoured haven in times of stress due to Japan's position as the world's largest creditor nation, climbed across the board. The US dollar fell to 110.30 yen from 110.95 just before news of the attacks hit dealing screens, while the Aussie dollar fell to a four-month low against the yen at 83.1 yen.

Bond rally

Fixed income assets like benchmark 10-year government bonds were snapped up as investors fled to safety. Heavy buying pushed the yields on 10-year US Treasury debt down five basis points to 2.29 per cent, breaking a significant chart barrier at 2.30 per cent for the first time this year. Aussie 10-year yields fell 9 points to 2.503 per cent, their lowest since just after the US election. Bond yields fall when bond demand is high. Bond yields have been falling lower for much of the past month.

Tesla madness

Tesla's share price soared 4.1 per cent to $US298.7 in Wall Street's past four trading sessions, taking its market capitalisation above that of Ford's and not far off General Motors'.  An observation made on Twitter that Tesla only delivered 76,000 cars in the past year and is deeply in debt, while Ford has twenty times the revenues, drew out founder Elon Musk to defend the price. "Tesla is absurdly overvalued if based on the past, but that's irrelevant," he argued. Tesla is one of the most shorted stocks on Wall Street.