Australian Stocks Head for 3rd Straight Weekly Rise

Australian shares jumped 96 points or 1.1% to 8,818 in early Friday trade, rebounding after two sessions of weakness and reaching a five-week high as Wall Street recovered overnight, with tech stocks stabilising after a recent sell-off. In top trading partner China, PBoC Governor Pan Gongsheng reaffirmed a moderately loose policy stance, signaling continued growth support while balancing financial stability. Locally, September employment unexpectedly fell, tempering bets on further RBA tightening. However, gains were capped by caution ahead of China’s Q3 GDP release next week. Nearly all sectors advanced, led by commercial services, non-energy minerals, manufacturing, and logistics. The big four banks rallied sharply, rising 1.9% to 3.3%. Maggie Beer Holdings gained 3.6% after scrapping its hamper sale plan, while Woolworths surged 4.3%, QBE Insurance rose 2.7%, and Computershare added 2.2%. For the week, markets are tracking a third straight weekly gain, up nearly 1% so far.