ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Rocketing BNPL shares fail to stop ASX 200 slide

Rocketing ASX payments and buy now, pay later (BNPL) shares weren't enough to stop the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) from going backwards last week with a 2.3% loss.

Last week's market pessimism was in stark contrast to the prior week of trading, which saw the ASX 200 push past the 6,000 point mark once again. After last week, the index is now firmly back below this psychologically-important milestone. Gloomy sentiment following the reintroduction of coronavirus restrictions in Victoria was the main catalyst pulling shares lower. After a sharp uptick in coronavirus transmissions in Victoria, metropolitan Melbourne and one regional shire are now back under lockdown conditions, which is obviously terrible news for all Victorians and Victorian businesses.

Predictably, ASX travel shares were among the worst hit companies on the ASX boards. Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) led the ASX 200's losses last week with a 15.2% slide over the period, but Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) and Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) were also bleeding heavily with 9.58% and 8.12% falls respectively.

But despite the market pessimism over new coronavirus restrictions, it seemed nothing could stand in the way of ASX payments and BNPL shares last week.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) had yet another phenomenal week, rising 7.13% and printing a new record high of $76.62 on Friday. In fact, at one point, Afterpay shares were up more than 15% in just under 48 hours between Wednesday afternoon and noon Friday.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) was also on fire, rising more than 26% last week and printing a new record high of its own at $7.72 on Friday.

Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT) joined the party with a 16.55% gain, as did Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) with a 29.2% bonanza.

In other news, gold was also in the spotlight last week. The yellow metal inched closer to its all-time high of US$1,920 per ounce last week when it hit US$1,817 – a 9-year high. Gold is now up almost 20% in 2020 so far, with only another ~5.5% of appreciation needed to break the all-time record.

How did the markets end the week?

After starting last week at 6,057.9 points, the ASX 200 ended trading on Friday at 5,919.2 points – which gives the index a 2.29% loss for the week. Monday saw a relatively muted 0.43% loss, while Tuesday was a flat day. Wednesday was when investors really hit the brakes and saw a 1.5% selloff. Thursday was a day in the green and investors clawed back some of Wednesday's lost ground. But sentiment decisively shifted on Friday and saw ASX 200 shares lose another 0.82% to put the index firmly into negative territory for the week.

Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries (INDEXASX: XAO) also had a week to forget, starting off at 6,163.7 points and finishing the week at 6,036.3 points for a 2.1% loss.

Which ASX 200 shares were the biggest winners and losers?

Time to fetch the tea and biscuits while we mull over last week's best and worst performers. As always, we'll start with the losers:

As we discussed, embattled ASX travel share Corporate Travel Management took out this week's wooden spoon. Investors are clearly fearing that the new coronavirus outbreak in Melbourne could potentially lead to further travel restrictions.

Property lister Domain was also in the firing line last week. Increasing lockdowns means fewer house inspections and property market activity, which is clearly bad news for property classifieds companies like Domain.

Investors were potentially also fretting about these impacts for car sales, which could explain why dealership company AP Eagers was also in investors' bad books last week.

Now we've had a glance at last week's losers, it's only fair to check out the winners as well. Remember, whilst the ASX payments and BNPL companies we discussed earlier were standout performers, none (with the exception of Afterpay) have yet to make it into the ASX 200 club.

Netwealth was the clear winner from the ASX 200 last week with an 18.4% gain. The catalyst for this striking move appears to have been an exciting update for the wealth platform provider, which reported 35% growth in funds under management for FY2020. Not bad!

ASX gold miner Perseus is next on the list here. As we earlier discussed, gold prices have been on the march lately, which has left many investors looking for avenues (like gold miners) to profit from this trend.

Medical company Mesoblast was also in investors' good graces with a promising update of its own, whilst cloud infrastructure provider Megaport moved upwards as investors continue to look for winners in this forward-facing space. 

What is this week looking like for the ASX 200?

It's likely the ASX will really test investors' sentiment this week as all eyes remain on Victoria and its dreadful new coronavirus outbreak. As a border state, New South Wales is also on high alert and investors and non-investors alike will no doubt be hoping that further cases don't hop the border.

The return of lockdowns in Victoria is devastating from both a social and commercial perspective. If other states are forced to join Victoria in returning to lockdown, it will likely have a profound impact on the ASX 200 and the share market overall.

This week, I'll also be keeping a firm eye on the ASX payments and BNPL winners of last week, as well as the gold price.

So before we once more unto the breach, dear friends, here's a look at how the major ASX blue-chip shares are looking: