Australian shares climb as banks, gold stocks shine
EWA•Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 8,699.80 points, lifted by banks and gold stocks as miners fell. Firmus shelved its planned $5 billion IPO, citing market volatility and conditions.
1. Banks and gold advance
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 8,699.80 points by 2340 GMT on Friday, after falling 0.8% on Thursday. Financials gained more than 1%, with each of the Big Four banks up over 1%, while gold stocks rose 1% on firmer bullion prices.
2. Miners weigh on index
Miners fell nearly 1%, with BHP Group down 1%. The miners sub-index was down 1.7% for the week, on track for its sixth consecutive weekly decline. Technology stocks climbed more than 1% on Friday but were down over 3% for the week.
3. Firmus shelves IPO
Data centre operator Firmus, backed by Nvidia, shelved its planned $5 billion IPO, citing market volatility and conditions. The proposed offering would have been Australia’s largest new share sale in nearly three decades, behind Telstra’s roughly $10 billion float in 1997. Gains in Australian shares followed improved risk appetite after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to halt attacks on Iran ahead of November’s midterm elections.
