Australian shares rose on Friday, driven by a rebound in tech stocks after Wall Street closed sharply higher overnight in a dramatic reversal as the United States unveiled more sanctions against Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The ASX 200 closed up 0.1 per cent to 6,998 points, with the industrial and education sectors leading the gains.
That was a turnaround for the benchmark, which plummeted by 3 per cent and nearly $74 billion was wiped off the value of Australian shares on Thursday.
The All Ordinaries index was up 0.3 per cent to 7,274 points.
Oil prices surged again on worries about supply disruptions, with Brent crude rising over 2 per cent to $101.3 a barrel by 4:15pm AEDT.
Technology stocks soared 8.1 per cent, tracking a rally on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, and recouped a large chunk of their losses suffered earlier in the week.
Block soared by a record 32.5 per cent on quarterly results, while Life360 recouped most loses from yesterday's 28.8 per cent dive, jumping 22 per cent to $5.71.
Also among the best performers were Paladin Energy (+12.4pc), Tyro (+10.9pc), Liontown (+10pc), Appen (+8.7pc) and Adbri (+7.6pc).
Energy stocks gained 0.1 per cent after oil prices breached $US100 a barrel again, with Santos up 0.7 per cent.
Almost half of the sectors were trading in negative territory.
Blackmores dived 10.5 per cent after its profit report while Magellan dropped 10.1 per cent on an almost $10 billion decline in assets under management.
Safe-haven gold inched higher 0.57 per cent to $1,913 an ounce in the afternoon after easing back from a multi-month high of $1,973.96 that it hit on Thursday.
Gold stocks fell following a drop in bullion prices overnight. Newcrest, the country's largest gold miner, shed up to 3.1 per cent, while Northern Star Resources fell 5.6 per cent.
Lynas Rare Earth jumped 6.9 per cent after it posted a record first-half profit, helped by a surge in demand for the minerals used in electric vehicles amid a global push to reduce carbon emissions.
Shares of Charter Hall Group rose 3.7 per cent and were set for their best day since August 2020 after reporting a near three-fold increase in half-yearly profit.
The Australian dollar edged higher at 71.95 US cents by 4:33pm AEDT.
Wall St rallies after a volatile session
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended sharply higher on Thursday in a dramatic reversal from the start of the session as US President Joe Biden unveiled harsh new sanctions against Russia after Moscow began an all-out invasion of Ukraine.
The Dow also ended in positive territory.
After consulting counterparts from the Group of Seven nations, Mr Biden announced measures to impede Russia's ability to do business in the world's major currencies, along with sanctions against banks and state-owned enterprises.
Indexes, which sold off at the start of the day on news of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, hit session highs in the wake of Mr Biden's comments.
The Nasdaq was down more than 3 per cent at the open.
"There was a knee-jerk reaction overnight to the invasion by Russia into Ukraine, but the situation is still developing," said Lindsey Bell, investment strategist at Ally Financial in New York.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 92 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 33,224 while the S&P 500 gained 63 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 4,289.
The Nasdaq Composite added 436 points, or 3.3 per cent, to close at 13,474.
The information technology sector gave the S&P 500 its biggest boost in a reversal of Wednesday's action.
"The tough stand the US and Europe is taking is sending a loud message to the financial markets that they're going to try to cripple as much as they can the Russian economy," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
"From one perspective that's positive," he said, adding that the selling in the market may not be over.
Ukraine crisis hits European markets
Ukrainian forces battled Russian invaders on three sides on Thursday after Moscow mounted an assault by land, sea and air in the biggest attack on a European state since World War II.
In the following hours, European stocks dived to nine-month lows, with banks and automakers bearing the brunt of the sell-off.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index tumbled 3.3 per cent to its lowest since May 2021, marking a correction, or 10 per cent drop, from its record high in January.
ABC/Reuters
