Australia: Iron ore miners power shares to end higher

[SYDNEY] Australian shares rose on Friday and notched their first weekly gain in five, powered by heavyweight miners on the back of firm iron ore prices, though tumbling shares of EML Payments due to regulatory scrutiny in Ireland shaved points off the benchmark.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.9 per cent higher at 7,320.1 points, its highest close since Sept 30. For the week, the benchmark added 1.9 per cent.

Also helping sentiment was Wall Street's strong finish on Thursday, as the debt ceiling standoff in the United States reached a truce.

"Stock market optimism appears to have returned ahead of the planned easing of coronavirus restrictions starting Monday," Kalkine Group CEO Kunal Sawhney said.

Stay-at-home orders in Sydney are due to be lifted after New South Wales state this week hit its 70 per cent target of full vaccination for its adult population.

"Easing of lockdown restrictions may prompt a shift in investors' interest towards cyclical stocks in the days ahead.

Any signs of an earlier-than-expected rise in interest rates could further spur this movement to cyclical stocks, " Sawhney added.

Miners led gains with a 2.2 per cent jump, as Dalian iron ore rose to a one-month high with trading resuming after a week-long holiday in China.

Heavyweights BHP Group and Rio Tinto climbed 3 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, while Fortescue advanced 2.7 per cent.

Tech stocks rose 1.3 per cent and hit their highest close in a week, while financials jumped 0.9 per cent.

On the downside, a 14 per cent plunge in shares of payments solutions provider EML Payments after Ireland's central bank issued regulatory warnings related to its Irish business weighed on the benchmark.

Terracom reversed early gains and closed 9 per cent lower after the coal miner said a potential financier fell through, though it managed to secure refinancing for its debt with existing bondholders.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index closed 0.1 per cent lower at 13,086.6.

REUTERS