Despite a weak lead from Wall Street where stocks edged lower overnight on some weak economic data, the Australian market is trading higher on Friday with investors picking up mining, energy and financial stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is up 14.1 points or 0.3 percent at 5,179.8. The broader All Ordinaries index is trading at 5,157.7, up 13.5 points or 0.3 percent from its previous close.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank (ANZ) is up 1 percent, Commonwealth Bank of Australia is trading higher by 0.8 percent, Westpac (WBK) is up with a gain of 0.5 percent, and National Australia Bank is trading marginally higher. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank is adding 0.4 percent, while Bank of Queensland is down 0.7 percent.
In the mining space, BHP Billiton (BHP) is up nearly 2 percent, Rio Tinto (RIO) is trading 0.6 percent higher and Fortescue Metals is up 1.2 percent, while Newcrest Mining is trading lower by about 2 percent.
Aurora Oil & Gas and Whitehaven Coal are trading higher by 5.3 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. PanAust, James Hardie Industries, Investa Office Fund, Challenger and Oil Search are all up 2 to 2.8 percent.
Spark Infrastructure is trading higher by nearly 2 percent. Caltex Australia is up with a gain of 1.6 percent.
WorleyParsons is down nearly 14 percent after the company cut its profit guidance due to delays to major resources projects. The company expects to make a net profit in the range of A$320 million and A$340 million in the 2012-2013 financial year, below its underlying earnings of A$345.6 million in the previous financial year. The company had earlier forecast a higher net profit than the previous year's underlying earnings.
Incitec Pivot, David Jones, Myer Holdings, Wesfarmers and Regis Resources are down 3 to 4 percent. Flight Centre, Echo Entertainment Group and Perseus Mining are also trading sharply lower.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar declined to a new 11-month low against the U.S. dollar. In early trades, the Aussie was quoting at US$0.9797. It edged up subsequently to US$9809, but was still down from Thursday's close of US$0.9837.
On Wall Street, stocks ended lower on Thursday with traders reacting to a disappointing batch of U.S. economic data.
The Dow dipped 42.5 points or 0.3 percent to 15,233.2, the Nasdaq edged down 6.4 points or 0.2 percent to 3,465.2 and the S&P 500 declined 8.3 points or 0.5 percent to 1,650.5.
Major European markets ended mixed on Thursday. The German DAX index up by 0.1 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and the French CAC 40 index both dipped by 0.1 percent.
U.S. crude oil ended higher for a second straight day on Thursday, after the dollar dropped against a basket of major currencies following a slew of weak macroeconomic data out of the U.S.
Crude for June delivery ended up $0.86 or 0.9 percent at $95.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after hitting a low of $93.23 a barrel during the session.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.