By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 closed 63.90 points or 0.87% higher at 7,445.80 on Friday, posting slight losses of 0.14% over the course of the week. Market participants cheered higher iron ore prices, buoying mining companies, while tech stocks rebounded as bond yields ticked lower.
Among stocks, technology names posted solid gains, with Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) lifting 1.12%, Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) up 1.19% and Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) adding 1.95%. BNPL darlings also lifted with Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX:APT) up 1.94% and Zip Co Ltd (ASX:Z1P) surging 3.95%. Meantime, mining heavyweights gained following a rebound in iron ore prices, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) up 3.62%, Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) up 4.94% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) gaining 1.81%. Bhp also added 2.81% as the company gained approval for its climate transition action plan.
In currency markets, The Australian dollar was trading near 5-month lows at 0.7289 as the Greenback rose to a 16-month high on the prospect of higher US interest rates.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates were at 1.803%, while United States 10-Year rates were at 1.568%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 fell 0.91% to 12908, falling 1.3% for the week and falling to 3-month lows.