Australian shares jumped 1.5 percent on Friday to post their best performance in five weeks on a broad-based rally with miners and energy stocks benefiting from gains in crude oil and iron ore prices. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 88.5 points to 5,933.3 at the close of trade. The benchmark closed up 0.1 percent on Thursday. The market has had a poor run lately with discouraging economic news from China, a key iron ore importer and Australia's main trading partner, made worse by weak global commodity prices.
The benchmark has fallen in six of the last 10 sessions but ended the week in the black, thanks to Friday's gains. It is up 0.94 percent this week. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index ended up 0.13 percent or 7.45 points to finish the session at 5,765.36.
The market has had a poor run lately with discouraging economic news from China, a key iron ore importer and Australia's main trading partner, made worse by weak global commodity prices. The benchmark has fallen in six of the last 10 sessions but it is set to end the week in the black, thanks to Friday's gains. Among index heavyweights, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were top movers, rising over 2 percent. Among energy shares, Sundance was up 9 percent and Karoon Gas rose over 3 percent. The "Big Four" lenders including Commonwealth Bank, up 1.3 percent, and ANZ Bank, up 1 percent, also lifted the index higher.
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