By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 closed just 5.8 points lower at 7,493.8 on Friday, finishing the week 1.2% higher and rallying 6.4% for the month, posting the market’s best performance since November 2020.
Among stocks, Materials and Energy lifted while Consumer Discretionary and Telecommunications declined.
Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) gained 1%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) added 1.2%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) lifted 1.9%, Arizona Lithium Ltd (ASX:AZL) gained 12.5%, Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) gained 15.8% and Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:LYC) gained 3.1%.
Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX:WPL) gained 1.8%, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) added 2.1%, and Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) lifted 0.32%.
Meantime, JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX:JBH) lost 1.8%, Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX:DMP) fell 4% and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX:WES) dropped 1.6%, while Rea Group Ltd (ASX:REA) dropped 3.9%, Seek Ltd (ASX:SEK) fell 3.1% and Telstra Corporation Ltd. (ASX:TLS) declined 0.8%.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates were at 2.824%, while United States 10-Year yields were at 2.38%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 was down 0.17% to 12,089.