Four straight weekly gains for ASX: Aus shares close 0.1% higher

Text-only (non-video) report.

The ASX staged a strong comeback after lunchtime to ascend back into the positive zone around 3pm. Despite slight fluctuation in the final hour of trade, green emerged victorious and won the day.

The energy sector continued to lose ground, as Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) shed 8.3 per cent just before the close of trade. Gold players’ strong performances helped to reverse broader losses and fire the ASX to another post-pandemic high. This marks the Australian shares’ 4 consecutive weekly gains.

At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.07 per cent or 4.90 points higher at 7063.50. Over the week it gained 0.97 per cent or 68.30 points.

China’s tightened stance on carbon emissions has had little effect on demand for iron ore, as the spot price for the 62 per cent-grade iron ore hit a decade-high of $US178.41 a tonne

Futures

The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 12 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 5 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 29 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a 2 point fall for Monday morning.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector was Real Estate Investment Trusts, up 1.52 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Energy, down 1.48 per cent.

The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Monadelphous Group (ASX:MND), closing 5.93 per cent higher at $11.43. It was followed by shares in Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) and Zip Co (ASX:Z1P).

The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Origin Energy (ASX:ORG), closing 8.94 per cent lower at $4.28. It was followed by shares in Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) and Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC).

Asian markets

Japan's Nikkei has gained 0.18 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng has gained 0.91 per cent. China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.91 per cent.

Wall Street

Wall Street finished the last four trading days higher. The Dow Jones gained 0.69 per cent. The S&P 500 gained 1 per cent. The Nasdaq gained 0.99 per cent.

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1764.48 an ounce.
Iron ore is 2.80 per cent higher at US$178.41 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 1.01 per cent.
Light crude is trading $0.38 higher at Us$61.53 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 77.44 US cents.