Australian shares are on track for their best monthly performance since February despite the evaporation of an early rally that tracked a positive Wall Street session.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 17.7 points by midday on Friday, up 0.2 per cent to 8,985.4, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 21.8 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 9,144.5.
The ASX200 surged almost 93 points in early trade, but that lead had largely crumbled by lunchtime.
Wall Street rallied overnight after strong results from Microsoft boosted sentiment following a string of disappointing tech sector results, while a surprise reduction in US inflation eased worries about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hold a day earlier.
“Markets were buoyed by strong US technology earnings, although sentiment continued to compete with headlines of fresh US strikes against Iran,” Westpac economist Luka Belobrajdic said.
Still, the local bourse is on track for its best week since April, with investors betting on a less hawkish Reserve Bank outlook on interest rates after June consumer price index data undershot expectations.
Miners were doing the heavy lifting on Friday as basic materials rebounded almost two per cent in a volatile week for the sector, which has been impacted by oil price swings and global growth worries amid a re-escalation in fighting between the US and Iran.
BHP and Rio Tinto both traded higher, while Fortescue dived almost three per cent after flagging a $US525 million ($A747 million) tax impairment in its quarterly update.
Gold miners rebounded as the precious metal firmed to $US4,085 ($A5,815) an ounce, lifting the local gold sub-index 2.5 per cent.
Brent crude was trading just below $US86 a barrel on Friday, down from above $US100 the same time last week.
Australian energy stocks edged lower as Woodside lost ground, while Santos, Viva and Ampol traded flat and coal miners were broadly lower.
Uranium stocks rebounded, tracking with renewed confidence in the artificial intelligence and data centre narrative.
The financials sector improved by 0.1 per cent as a rebound in Macquarie’s share price and modest advances from the big four banks helped ballast weakness in the major insurers.
Consumer-facing stocks turned lower, both staples and cyclicals stumbling at the finish line in an otherwise positive week for the two sectors.
Health care stocks underperformed, losing more than two per cent as investors took profits on CSL’s mid-week charge.
However, 4DMedical bucked the trend, soaring nine per cent to the top of the leaderboard after its operating revenue for the 2026 financial year ballooned by 23 per cent to $7.2 million.
Origin and Michael Hill also advanced on strong trading updates.
The Australian dollar was buying 70.22 US cents, up from 69.54 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.
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