The Australian sharemarket closed higher on Friday with uranium stocks climbing during the first trading day of 2026.
The ASX 200 finished at 8,727.80, up 0.2% on the day, as six of the ASX’s 11 sectors rose, led by an 0.8% increase in energy stocks.
Uranium producers saw major gains, with Deep Yellow shares rising 6% and Paladin Energy climbing 6.2%.
Boss Energy’s shares were also up 6.5%, and Lotus Resources’ grew by 5.7%. Energy sector stocks have risen by 1.6% across the past five days.
Shares in gold miner Northern Star dropped 8.2%, after the company cut its annual gold production guidance from 1.7-1.8 million ounces to 1.6-1.7 million ounces.
The ASX 200 gained 6.8% across 2025, and the All Ordinaries index rose by 7%.
Australian two-year bond yields rose 0.04% to 4.099% today, and 10-year bond yields increased 0.03% to 4.809%.
In the U.S., markets closed lower on New Year’s Eve. The S&P 500 fell by 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.8%.
All major U.S. indices finished 2025 with at least 13% in annual gains, with the Nasdaq Composite leading at 20.5%.
