ASX Ends up as Banks and Tech Rally
The Australian sharemarket notched its longest winning streak in eight months on Friday, with the ASX 200 closing higher as gains in banks and technology stocks outweighed profit-taking in miners.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.5%, or 42.90 points, to 8903.90 - its highest level since late October. The benchmark rose across all five sessions to finish the week up 2.1%, marking its longest stretch of gains since an eight-session rally in May 2025.
Technology led eight sectors higher after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing forecast revenue growth of close to 30% in 2026 – beating analyst estimates and easing concerns about weakness in AI-related demand. NextDC rose 3.5% to $13 and Life360 added 1.7% to $29.23.
The major banks underpinned Friday’s advance, with Commonwealth Bank and ANZ both up 0.5% to $154.30 and $37.52 respectively, National Australia Bank 0.7% to $42.67, Westpac 1.8% to $39.19 and Macquarie 2.6% to $211.86.
Miners lagged as investors locked in profits following strong commodity-driven gains earlier in the week. BHP fell 0.8% to $48.99 after rallying more than 6% this week on higher copper and metals prices.
Capital.com senior analyst Kyle Rodda said volatility remains concentrated in commodities as prices trade near records.
“At the highest level, the movements are driven by resource competition and a world of growing scarcity. From a micro standpoint, geopolitical risk, especially in Iran, is causing oil and precious metals to swing,” he said.
Oil tumbled after US President Donald Trump softened talk of intervention in Iran. Energy stocks followed the move lower, with Woodside down 1.4% to $23.68 and Santos by 1.6% to $6.23.
James Hardie gained 2% to $35.70 after announcing plans to shut manufacturing facilities in California and South Carolina. Citi estimates the move could lift profit by 2% to 3% in fiscal 2027.
Capstone Copper jumped 7.1% to $15.6 after meeting annual copper guidance of 224,764 tonnes - a company record.
Catalyst Metals climbed 14.7% to $9 after Bell Potter raised its price target to $13.50 on the back of record quarterly production at Plutonic.
Novonix dived 15.8% to 42.5¢ after it pushed back the start of mass production of anode material for Panasonic Energy to the second half of 2027 from this year.
Perseus Mining fell 1.4% to $5.83 after it said an employee at its ore haulage contractor Binkadi died in an off-site vehicle accident near the Bagoe Gold Mine in Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday.
IperionX advanced 2.6% to $7.17 after the US Department of Defence paid the final $US4.6 million of a $US47.1 million award and delivered 290 tonnes of Ti64 titanium scrap, equivalent to roughly 18 months of feedstock.
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