The Australian sharemarket closed higher on Friday, tracking Wall Street’s positive lead as expectations of a United States rate cut strengthened, though the benchmark still ended the week down about 1.2%.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 44.7 points, or 0.5%, to 8,871.2, with nine of 11 sectors finishing in positive territory.
Real estate investment trusts rallied, with Mirvac up 1.7%, Goodman Group adding 2.1%, Charter Hall up 2.6%, and Scentre Group climbing 0.3%.
Retailers posted solid performances, with JB Hi-Fi adding 1.8%, Domino’s Pizza Enterprises up 2.3%, Aristocrat Leisure lifting 0.6%, and Wesfarmers finishing 1.8% higher.
Technology stocks also contributed to the advance. Xero and TechnologyOne added 1.2% and 1.4%, respectively, while Life360 jumped 3.1%, and NextDC rose 2.9%.
However, WiseTech Global extended its recent declines, slipping 1.4%.
The big banks posted marginal gains. National Australia Bank rose 0.8%, Westpac gained 0.7%, and ANZ edged up 0.3%, while Commonwealth Bank ticked up 0.1%.
Gold miners strengthened as bullion hovered near record highs, with spot gold at US$3,554 an ounce. Northern Star and Newmont added 1.2% apiece, while Evolution Mining gained 0.7%.
Among individual names, Orica rose 1.2% after the explosives manufacturer flagged stronger underlying earnings across its businesses for the second half ending 30 September.
On the bond markets, yields continued to ease, with the 10-year and 2-year rates down 0.3% and 0.5% at 3.345% and 3.407%, respectively.
