CANBERRA: Australian shares ended up 0.7 percent on Friday as investors bought banks after a recent sell-off but the index came off a seven-week high during the day on losses in major miners.
The S&P/ASX 200 index finished 38.16 points higher to 5,268.2. The benchmark rose 0.6 percent on Thursday.
Despite Friday’s gains, the index ended the week 0.2 percent lower. New Zealand’s benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.77 percent or 44.3 points to finish the session at 5,820.01.