Australian Market Trims Early Gains In Mid-market

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trimming its early gains in mid-market moves on Friday, snapping a three-session losing streak, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,900 level, with strong gains in gold miner stocks partially offset by weakness in technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 18.30 points or 0.21 percent to 8,903.80, after touching a high of 8,943.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 22.40 points or 0.24 percent to 9,201.30. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is adding more than 1 percent, while Fortescue is edging down 0.4 percent. BHP Group is flat

Oil stocks are mixed. Origin Energy is declining more than 3 percent and Santos is losing almost 1 percent, while Woodside Energy is gaining almost 1 percent and Beach energy is edging up 0.2 percent. Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is losing more than 1 percent and Zip is edging down 0.1 percent, while Appen and Xero are slipping almost 1 percent each. WiseTech Global is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is adding more than 1 percent and Westpac is gaining almost 1 percent, while ANZ Banking is losing more than 1 percent and National Australia Bank is edging down 0.2 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining are gaining more than 4 percent each, while Genesis Minerals and Newmont are advancing almost 4 percent each. Resolute Mining is edging up 0.2 percent.

In other news, shares in Steadfast are tumbling almost 10 percent after its chief executive Robert Kelly opted to stand aside pending an investigation into allegations made against him by an employee.

Shares in Mayne Pharma Group are plummeting more than 32 percent after it was revealed the federal government could step in to block a troubled potential takeover of the company by US company Cosette Pharmaceuticals Inc. on national interest terms. In economic news, Australia's final demand Producer Price Index (PPI) jumped 1.0 percent on quarter in in the third quarter of 2025, accelerating from a 0.7 percent rise in the previous quarter and topping market estimates of a 0.8 percent increase. This marked the 21st consecutive quarter of producer price inflation and the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2024.

Australia's private sector credit rose 0.6 percent on month in September 2025, matching the pace of the previous month but exceeding market expectations of a 0.5 percent increase.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.655 on Friday.