The Australian sharemarket finished higher on Friday, marking a third consecutive record close and sealing weekly gains of around 1.3%, despite a sharp post-earnings sell-off in Coles.
The S&P/ASX 200 finished up 23.30 points, or 0.3%, at 9,198.6, with seven of the 11 sectors closing in positive territory.
For the month, the index has rallied 3.7%.
Utilities were among the strongest performers, with Origin Energy up 1.5%, APA Group adding 1.6%, and AGL Energy advancing 0.8%.
Communication services also lifted the index. REA Group rallied 3.6%, while CAR Group added 4.7%.
Materials stocks gained after U.S.-based MP Materials signed what was described as an “enormous” rare earths supply agreement with an unnamed automaker, boosting sentiment across the sector.
Lynas Rare Earths surged 10.1%, and Iluka Resources jumped 9.1%.
The session’s standout was Block, which soared 27.8% after the owner of Square and Afterpay announced plans to cut 4,000 of its 10,000 staff as part of a restructuring drive.
Consumer staples was the weakest sector, dragged lower by Coles, which slumped 7.4% following disappointing first-half results.
Among other notable movers, Bapcor plunged 49.3% after resuming trade following a capital raising. The company issued shares at 60¢, representing a 60% discount.
Harvey Norman fell 9% after first-half results showed Australian sales missed expectations, offsetting strong international growth.
TPG Telecom declined 2.7% as heightened competition in mobile weighed on performance, despite reporting a return to profit of $52 million in line with analyst forecasts.
Shares in Virgin Australia eased 0.3% after statutory profit dropped 27.9% to $341 million, reflecting the impact of a higher tax bill.
On the bond markets, yields edged lower. The 10-year rate slipped 0.3% to 4.655%, while the 2-year yield fell 0.1% to 4.193%.
