The Australian sharemarket treaded water as losses by world’s biggest miner BHP and energy stocks offset gains by the big four banks and a rally by wealth giant AMP.

The local sharemarket posted a volatile start to the week on Monday, with gains early in the day all but erased by market close.

The Australian sharemarket finished stronger on Wednesday, shrugging off another rise in oil prices, after an unexpectedly sharp slowdown in US inflation fuelled gains on Wall…