ASX 200 rises as technology stocks climb higher

(AWP Alliance News) - Asia Pacific stock indices were mixed on Friday with shares higher in Sydney despite weakness in the materials sector and rising crude oil prices.

The S&P/ASX 200 was up 50.90 points, 0.6%, at 8,711.80 on Friday afternoon.

9 out of 11 sectors were trading higher, with the information technology sector the best performer.

Shares in WiseTech Global jumped 4.9%, Life360 rose 4.3% and Technology One rose 2.6%.

The consumer discretionary sector also gained.

Lottery shares increased 4.6%, Lovisa climbed 4.3% and Eagers Automotive was 2.0% higher.

The general materials sector contrasted with the broader trend as Capstone Copper shares fell 2.6% and Fortescue lost 2.3%, while South32 lost 0.9%.

Shares in gold producer Alkane Resources declined 1.9%.

Alkane Resources produced 40,740 gold equivalent ounces in the first quarter ended September 30, down 4.1% from 42,491 gold equivalent ounces in the fourth quarter of financial year 2026.

Gold equivalent sales declined 19% quarter-on-quarter to 38,384 ounces.

Looking to energy, uranium producers were trading lower.

Deep Yellow plunged 6.4%, Paladin Energy declined 3.7%, Nexgen Energy fell 3.3%.

Scentre, the owner and operator of 42 Westfield shopping centres across Australia and New Zealand, has priced USD750 million of 10-year guaranteed senior notes with a fixed coupon of 6.2% in the US market.

The company said proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including to repay existing indebtedness.

"This transaction marks the group's return to the US market and aligns with the group's capital management strategy to diversify funding sources, extend the weighted average maturity of debt and reduce the overall weighted average cost of capital," Scentre said.

Scentre shares edged up 0.4%.

Around midday in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 529.81 points, 0.8%, at 68,512.30 on Friday.

Murata Manufacturing fell 5.3%.

SoftBank Group and Fast Retailing lost 5.0% and 3.7%, respectively.

Nintendo rose 3.3%, Recruit gained 3.2%.

According to the Statistics Bureau of Japan, the average of monthly consumption expenditures per two-or-more person households in Japan fell 3.1% year-on-year in August to JPY310,975, or USD1,967.13, following a 3.6% decline in July.

The drop was less than the 3.6% decline the consensus forecast cited by FXStreet had anticipated.

Average monthly income per household was down 0.9% year-on-year in real terms, but incomes rose 1.3% in nominal terms.

In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 39.36 points, 1.0%, at 3,772.54. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up 313.02 points, 1.3%, at 24,098.81. Financial markets in Taiwan are closed for Double Tenth Day.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index was down 27.87 points, 0.5%, at 5,385.09. Over in Mumbai, the Nifty 50 closed down 371.25 points, 1.6%, at 22,231.80 on Thursday. Financial markets in South Korea are closed for Hangul Day.

President Donald Trump said the US will not carry out further strikes against Iran before the upcoming US midterm elections on November 3.

"We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran," the US president said.

Brent oil was quoted higher at USD103.52 a barrel early in London on Friday from USD102.29 around the same time a day earlier. West Texas Intermediate rose to USD90.91 a barrel from USD89.82.

Gold was quoted up at USD4,175.77 an ounce from USD4,133.50.

The dollar weakened against the yuan to CNY6.6975 from CNY6.7033, against the yen to JPY158.11 from JPY158.17, and against the Australian dollar to AUD1.4326 from AUD1.4358.

The euro strengthened to USD1.1226 from USD1.1202, while the pound strengthened to USD1.3241 from USD1.3212.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 5.24%, narrowing from 5.31%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 5.62%, narrowing from 5.70%.

In the US on Thursday, performance on Wall Street was mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.1%, the S&P 500 down 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.3%.

IG says futures indicate London's FTSE 100 and Frankfurt's DAX 40 will both open 0.9% higher on Friday, with the CAC 40 in Paris up 0.8%.

Still to come on Friday's economic events calendar updates on Japanese machine tool orders and the US Michigan consumer sentiment index.

By Elijah Dale, Alliance News senior reporter Asia-Pacific

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