‘Substantial relief': ASX closes higher ahead of trade talks
The benchmark ASX 200 index closed up Friday, gaining 39.50 points or 0.48 per cent to 8,231.20. This locked in a minor fall of 0.08 per cent for the week's trading.
The All Ords closed up Friday, gaining 40.90 points or 0.49 per cent to 8,462.60 and setting a new 20-day high.
The Australian dollar is now buying 64.03 US cents.
On an overall strong day for the market, nine of the 11 sectors closed Friday in the green, including index heavyweights financials and consumer staples.
Leading the banking sector was Macquarie Group, which surged 3.79 per cent to $203.31 after it reported a 5 per cent jump in net profits.
Macquarie reported a net profit of $3.72 billion for the 12 months, beating market forecasts.
CBA continued its march higher up 0.92 per cent to $167.04, while Westpac surged 2.33 per cent to $31.21 and NAB rose 0.44 per cent to $36.53.
The one outlier was ANZ which dropped a further 1.43 per cent to $28.98 after releasing its half yearly results on Thursday.
The market heavyweight delivered a record $11bn revenue haul but its net interest margin, a key measure of profitability, slipped to 1.56 per cent.
Consumer staples also helped drag the market higher on the back of the two major supermarkets.
Woolworths shares were up 1.31 per cent to $33.26 while Coles closed 0.85 per cent higher at $22.48.
Endeavour Group jumped 1.45 per cent to $4.19 while Treasury Wine Estates is up 0.67 per cent to $9.02.
Australia's market continued to rally on Friday after a number of countries announced tariff reduction talks with the United States.
The UK was the first to agree to a trade deal, where it will buy $US10bn worth of Boeing planes, although it will still face the 10 per cent base level tariff rates.
It also follows earlier news of trade talks with India, South Korea and Japan were also in the pipeline.
VanEck senior portfolio manager Cameron McCormack said the most important trade deal could still be to come.
'The most significant development, however, could occur in a matter of days, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reported to be meeting senior Chinese officials in Geneva over the weekend,' Mr McCormack said.
'Clarity on the US-China trade relationship will be a substantial relief valve for the global economy.'
'China's economic recovery is particularly important for Australia, given its prominence as our largest trading partner.'
There was mixed news for Australia's commodities despite the initial trade talks.
Energy shares rallied as a whole 0.85 per cent, with Woodside Energy advancing 1.44 per cent to $20.40, and Santos up 1 per cent to $6.06 on the back of higher oil prices.
But a lift in iron futures did not help the major miners, with BHP down 1 per cent to $37.54, Rio Tinto sliding 0.95 per cent to $114.98 and Fortescue Metals, sliding 0.13 per cent to $15.96.
Capital .com senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said overall the markets sentiment could be changing.
'In a possible leading indicator of further upside in stocks and generally greater risk appetite, Bitcoin cracked $100,000 again overnight, bringing the crypto to within touching distance of record highs,' Mr Rodda said.
In company news, Nine Entertainment gained 6 per cent to $1.58 after agreeing to sell Domain to Costar.
News Corp jumped 4.83 per cent to $53.13 on a strong earnings report. The company announced revenues for the quarter came in at $2.01 billion, up 1 per cent on the prior corresponding period.
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