The Australian sharemarket ended Friday’s session marginally higher in mixed trade, as strength in utilities, consumer staples and major miners helped offset declines in technology and healthcare stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 15.50 points, or 0.18%, to 8,764.2, with eight of the 11 sectors finishing in positive territory.
Despite the late-session lift, the index closed down 0.8% for the week.
The Consumer Staples sector led gains as investors rotated into defensive positioning, with Coles rising 1.5% and Woolworths adding 0.8%.
Utilities also contributed to the gains, with Origin Energy up 0.9%, APA Group gaining 1.3%, and AGL Energy rising 0.5%.
Major miners advanced, supported by corporate developments and M&A speculation.
BHP rose 0.8% after announcing leadership changes ahead of incoming chief executive Brandon Craig taking over on 1 July.
Rio Tinto gained 2.2% after reports from Bloomberg that it is in discussions with Vitol regarding a potential freight joint venture. Fortescue Metals Group added 0.7%.
In contrast, the Information Technology sector was the weakest performer. Technology One fell 1.1%, NextDC dropped 4.5%, and Life360 declined 1.6%.
WiseTech Global and Xero bucked the trend, rising 0.5% and 1.8% respectively.
Healthcare stocks also came under pressure. CSL finished 2.4% lower, while Mesoblast led declines on the index, shedding 9.4%.
4DMedical plunged 9.9% after receiving Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approval for its CT lung imaging software.
The Financial sector ended slightly lower, with major banks delivering mixed performance as Commonwealth Bank fell 0.4%, National Australia Bank and Westpac lifted 0.2% apiece, and ANZ finished 0.5% higher.
Judo Capital fell a further 3.8% after Thursday’s record 40% plunge, as analysts downgraded the stock following a profit warning.
Among individual movers, DigiCo Infrastructure REIT rose 5.8% after announcing that chief executive Michael Juniper would not return from personal leave and had stepped down from his role as CEO and director, effective immediately.
HMC Capital added 0.7% after receiving approvals from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Foreign Investment Review Board for its strategic energy partnership with KKR, clearing the final regulatory hurdles ahead of an expected completion by Tuesday.
On the bond markets, local 10-year and 2-year yields fell 0.3% and 0.8% to 4.722% and 4.419%, respectively.
