The Australian stock market pushed higher in mid-market trading on Friday, breaking a four-session losing streak despite broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 34.60 points or 0.45 percent to 7,783.70, after touching an intraday high of 7,792.70 earlier in the session.
The broader All Ordinaries Index climbed 38.40 points or 0.48 percent to 8,005.00, reflecting wider market participation in the recovery move.
Australian stocks had closed notably lower on Thursday, making Friday’s rebound a welcome shift in sentiment for local investors.
Spiking metal prices provided the key catalyst, with iron ore miners and gold miners leading the charge higher across the market.
Among major miners, BHP Group gained almost 2 percent, while Rio Tinto added more than 1 percent as iron ore demand sentiment improved.
Fortescue Metals advanced more than 3 percent and Mineral Resources rose almost 3 percent, with both stocks among the standout performers of the session.
Gold miners also posted strong gains, with Resolute Mining surging more than 7 percent, Newmont advancing almost 5 percent, and Evolution Mining climbing almost 4 percent.
Northern Star Resources added more than 3 percent and Gold Road Resources rose almost 2 percent, rounding out a broadly positive session for the gold sector.
The oil sector told a different story, with Woodside Energy losing almost 2 percent and Beach Energy declining almost 1 percent, while Santos traded flat.
Origin Energy bucked the energy sector trend, rising almost 1 percent despite the broader weakness across oil-linked stocks during the session.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank fell more than 1 percent, Westpac and ANZ Banking each edged down between 0.3 and 0.5 percent, while National Australia Bank gained almost 1 percent.
In the technology sector, WiseTech Global shed more than 1 percent, while Block and Xero each edged down between 0.2 and 0.5 percent during mid-market trading.
Zip edged up 0.2 percent and Appen gained almost 2 percent, providing modest bright spots within an otherwise subdued tech segment.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar was trading at $0.628 against the US dollar on Friday.
