The Australian sharemarket rallied on Friday, echoing Wall Street’s record-setting performance and paring weekly losses to just 0.1% after August United States inflation data strengthened expectations of imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 59.9 points, or 0.68%, to close at 8,864.9, with six of the 11 sectors finishing in positive territory.
Materials stocks gained ground, with BHP up 1.3%, Rio Tinto adding 1.1% and Fortescue rising 0.9%.
Gold miners were standouts after bullion retested record highs above US$3,650 per ounce. Northern Star climbed 1.6%, Evolution Mining added 2.1%, and Newmont lifted 2.2%.
Real estate investment trusts also supported the market, with Mirvac advancing 1.7%, Goodman Group gaining 2%, and Scentre Group up 1.5%.
Financials posted broad gains, as Commonwealth Bank rose 1.3%, National Australia Bank added 1.2%, Westpac gained 1.4%, and ANZ climbed 1.1%.
Energy stocks were the only laggards, dragged down by weaker crude oil prices. Woodside Energy dropped 3.4%, Santos lost 2.2%, and Viva Energy slipped 1.6%.
Among individual companies, Ventia Services surged 5.6% after securing a $100 million, two-year extension to its contract for maintaining City of Sydney facilities.
On the bond markets, yields moved higher. The 10-year yield rose 0.4% to 4.224%, while the 2-year yield climbed 1.2% to 3.397%.
