AU Evening Wrap: Australia Shares Rise 1.0%, Still Finish Week Lower

$S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ closed 1.0% higher at 7421.2, snapping a five-day losing streak but still finishing lower for the week. Ten of 11 sectors finished higher as the benchmark index followed a positive lead from U.S. equities, which had gained amid strength in tech stocks and unemployment data suggesting economic resilience.

Information technology was the ASX 200's strongest performing sector on Friday, jumping 3.0% as $Altium Ltd (ALU.AU)$, $WiseTech Global Ltd (WTC.AU)$ and $Xero Ltd (XRO.AU)$ added between 2.8% and 4.8%.

Banks $CommBank (CBA.AU)$, $National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB.AU)$, $ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ANZ.AU)$ and $Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AU)$ put on between 0.7% and 1.5%.

$Whitehaven Coal Ltd (WHC.AU)$ added 3.8% after posting its December quarter production report, helping the energy sector rise 1.2%. The ASX 200 lost 1.0% for the week and is 2.2% lower so far in 2024.