Harvey Norman shares edged higher on Friday following retailer's disclosure late on Thursday night that its financial accounts are being reviewed by the corporate regulator.
The stock finished three cents higher on Friday at $4.38 after falling more than 2.1 per cent to an intra-day low of $4.26 - their lowest level for the week.
The furniture and electrical goods heavyweight said after the close of trade on Thursday that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission was conducting a "routine review" of its 2016 financial report.
Harvey Norman said its accounts were not being investigated and reiterated that its accounts for the 2015/16 financial year and the first half of 2016/17 were in accordance with the law.
The Thursday statement came after Harvey Norman said it was contacted by ASIC on Wednesday evening and asked to make a clarifying statement about an announcement earlier in the week.
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Harvey Norman was earlier this week asked by market operator ASX to respond to an article in The Australian Financial Review newspaper that claimed ASIC is reportedly reviewing how the group reports its exposure to franchisee losses.
The company said on Tuesday that the AFR article made false statements and assumptions, and made assertions and drew conclusions that were also false.
Harvey Norman shares dropped eight per cent on Monday after the AFR article was published, gained three per cent on Tuesday after it rejected to the article's claim, and dropped another three per cent on Wednesday and Thursday.
