ASX 200 closes higher as gold and critical minerals stocks rally, Digi Mart USA News (Australia): The S&P/ASX 200 finished 8.9 points higher at 9,029.7, 0.7% off its session low and 0.3% off its high. Investors rotated out of defensive stocks and back into beaten-down miners, although commodity prices offered little support.
The Gold Sub-Index rose 4.2%, the strongest performance in the market. COMEX gold futures rose 1.4% to US$4,413.0 an ounce and COMEX silver futures rose 1.6% to US$52.78 an ounce in Asian trade.
Black Cat Syndicate (+8.9%) and Catalyst Metals (+8.8%) led the gains, while Genesis Minerals (+6.4%) and Ora Banda Mining (+6.3%) also rallied.
The Materials sector rose 2.9%, led by copper-linked miners. Sandfire Resources (+5.7%) and IGO (+4.8%) led the base metals stocks, while BHP Group (+2.7%) and Rio Tinto (+1.6%) gained.
Base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange fell on Friday, and iron ore futures were little changed at US$92.75 a tonne.
Rare earths and uranium stocks also advanced. Lynas Rare Earths rose 6.8% and Iluka Resources rose 4.6%, though NdPr prices in China were up only 0.3%.
Paladin Energy (+10.9%) and Boss Energy (+10.7%) led the uranium gains, while COMEX uranium futures were steady at US$91.75 a pound.
Information Technology rose 0.9%, with SiteMinder (+4.4%) and Codan (+2.9%) leading. Codan announced the US$244 million acquisition of US-based Eventide Communications.
Property was the weakest sector, falling 1.3%, as higher bond yields followed a stronger-than-expected US non-farm payrolls report. Lendlease fell 5.4% after terminating the sale of its Milan project development rights, forgoing about $90 million in expected proceeds.
Consumer Discretionary fell 1.1%, and Financials fell 1.1%, with ANZ Group Holdings down 3.2% despite a 23% rise in full-year net profit.
