Australian Stock Market Experiences Slight Dip

Market Round-up: Stocks Mixed, Banks Falter, and Gold Prices Vary

In today's market update, stocks on Wall Street moved mostly higher, with the S&P 500 reaching a new record closing high. The Nasdaq climbed 115.02 points or 0.5 percent, the S&P 500 rose 20.46 points or 0.3 percent, and the Dow edged up 71.67 points or 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 9.10 points or 0.10 percent, trading at 8,970.90. Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, and Westpac are losing more than 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is flat.

Shares in Harvey Norman are soaring almost 12 percent after reporting upbeat results, well above market expectations. Shares in Nextdc Ltd. are surging almost 17 percent after reporting upbeat full-year results. Shares in Austal are jumping almost 17 percent after a sharp turnaround in the 12 months to June 30, with net profit after tax jumping five-fold on stronger shipbuilding performance and a record order pipeline.

In the technology sector, Afterpay-owner Block, Xero, Zip, Appen, and WiseTech Global are mostly up. Block added almost 1 percent, Xero gained almost 1 percent, Zip advanced almost 5 percent, Appen up more than 2 percent, and WiseTech Global gained more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher, with Beach Energy gaining more than 1 percent and Woodside Energy edging up 0.3 percent. Crude oil prices moved higher on Thursday, with West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery up $0.42 or 0.65 percent at $64.57 per barrel.

Gold miners are mixed, with Evolution Mining and Newmont edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, Northern Star Resources and Gold Road Resources edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, and Resolute Mining losing more than 1 percent.

The Australian dollar is trading at $0.654 on Friday. In Europe, the French CAC 40 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, while the German DAX Index closed just below the unchanged line, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent.

No new information about individual companies like Boss Energy, Mineral Resources, Rio Tinto, Fortescue, or Gold miners like Evolution Mining, Newmont, Northern Star Resources, Gold Road Resources, or Resolute Mining is provided in the current paragraph.

Shares in Boss Energy are jumping almost 13 percent after reporting its first full-year production results from the Honeymoon and Alta Mesa uranium operations, generating $17.4 million in positive operating cashflow for the 2024-25 financial year.

Mining stocks are mixed, with BHP Group edging down 0.4 percent, Mineral Resources losing almost 1 percent, Rio Tinto edging up 0.1 percent, and Fortescue gaining almost 1 percent.

No new information about decisions, customer surveys, or market analysis is provided in the current paragraph. No new information about technology stocks, oil stocks, or gold miners is provided in the current paragraph. The most recent DAX high in the past days was around 23,770 points, achieved shortly before early September 2025, with the index having closed at this level on a recent day before experiencing some volatility and falling below 24,000 points. The European markets' performance is mentioned, but specific benchmarks like the All Ordinaries Index or the S&P/ASX 200 Index are not mentioned in the current paragraph.