The Australian sharemarket closed at a 50 day high on Friday, supported by record production at mining companies.
The ASX 200 finished 0.5% higher at 8,903.90 points as eight of its 11 sectors rose.
Catalyst Metals surged 14.7% after reporting record gold production at its Plutonic Gold Belt last quarter. The three mines in the area produced 28,176 ounces, the company said.
Capstone Copper also announced record copper production for 2025, sending shares up 7.1%. This comes amid a drop in copper prices, however, as the United States opted not to add tariffs on critical minerals.
Materials stocks slipped overall. The ASX 200’s materials index fell 0.3% today, although it is up 4% across the week.
The decline was driven by a 3.1% drop in PLS Group, a 3.1% decrease in IGO, and a 2.4% dip in Mineral Resources.
DroneShield climbed 7.8% after it joined a supplier panel for Australia’s Department of Defence, meanwhile. This will be a pathway to provide counter-drone technology to Defence’s bases and other government sites, it said.
In the United States, the S&P 500 climbed 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.3%.
Australian two-year bond yields were down 0.02% to 4.020% and 10-year yields were largely flat at 4.704%.
