Australia’s stock market closed slightly higher on Friday, with gains observed in the IT, Healthcare, and Telecoms Services sectors.
At the close in Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 index edged up by 0.07%.
Among the top performers on the S&P/ASX 200 were Boral Ltd. (ASX:BLD), which surged by 7.95% to 5.84, Unibail Rodamco Westfield (ASX:URW) with a gain of 7.33% to 5.86, and Rea Group Ltd (ASX:REA) climbing by 5.52% to 186.17.
Conversely, the session saw Omni Bridgeway Ltd (ASX:OBL) declining by 5.74%, Silver Lake Resources Ltd (ASX:SLR) falling by 4.69%, and Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX:NIC) dropping by 4.41%.
On the Sydney Stock Exchange, falling stocks slightly outnumbered advancing ones, with 618 declining, 603 advancing, and 370 remaining unchanged.
Shares in Boral Ltd. (ASX:BLD) soared to 5-year highs, while Unibail Rodamco Westfield (ASX:URW) reached 52-week highs.
The S&P/ASX 200 VIX, which gauges the implied volatility of S&P/ASX 200 options, decreased by 0.75% to 11.34.
In commodities trading, gold futures for April delivery edged down by 0.01% to $2,047.60 a troy ounce. Crude oil for March delivery fell by 0.18% to $76.08 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract dropped by 0.27% to $81.41 a barrel.
The Australian dollar was largely unchanged against the US dollar, with AUD/USD at 0.65, while AUD/JPY rose by 0.06% to 97.00.
The US Dollar Index Futures edged up by 0.02% to 104.06.