Australian shares rise on broad gains; Firmus shelving IPO boosts tech stocks

Life360

09/10/2026 06:48

Updates to close
NVIDIA-backed Firmus scraps $5 billion IPO plans
Tech stocks rise most in a week
Benchmark logs two straight weekly gains
By Jasmeen Ara Islam Shaikh
Oct 9 (Reuters) - Australian shares climbed on Friday as bargain hunters snapped up stocks after the benchmark's recent pullback, while Firmus' decision to shelve its $5 billion initial public offering sent money flowing into local software names.
The benchmark index S&P/ASX 200 .AXJO notched a 0.6% gain ending at 8,716.6 points after losing for last two sessions. For the week, it added 0.4%, rising for a second consecutive week.
Globally, sentiment was marginally lifted after U.S. President Trump said the U.S. will halt attacks on Iran till the country's mid-term elections in November.
Locally, markets are looking ahead to domestic September-quarter inflation figures due later this month, ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's final two policy meetings of the year in November and December.
On the day, technology stocks .AXIJ gained as much as 3.1%, after NVIDIA NVDA.O-backed data centre operator Firmus scrapped its initial public offering as it was met with lukewarm demand. Maas Group MGH.AX, which holds a 3.2% stake in Firmus, slumped as much as 10.7% as it resumed trading after being halted earlier in the day.
Firmus pulling its float has helped local tech by keeping fund-manager money in listed names and sparing index funds a forced rebalance, said David Tuckwell, CIO at ETF Shares.
With valuations oversold after a long sell-off, the sector is running on its own momentum, but the weak demand for Firmus shows investors are rewarding proven earners rather than shunning tech outright, he added.
WiseTech Global WTC.AX, Xero XRO.AX and Life360 360.AX added 4.2%, 3.5% and 4.1%, respectively. 
Gold miners .AXGD rose 1.9%, gaining their most in over two weeks as bullion prices inched higher. GOL/ 
The broader mining gauge slipped 0.2%, weighed by softness in iron ore and copper prices IRONORE/ MET/L
Financials .AXFJ rebounded from losses in the previous two sessions, advancing 0.5%.
Energy stocks .AXEJ eked out a 0.2% rise, marking a four-day winning streak even as oil prices weakened in early morning hours. O/R
Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 finished 0.4% higher at 13,749.35 points.

 (Reporting by Jasmeen Ara Shaikh in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
 ((Jasmeenaraislam.shaikh@thomsonreuters.com))
For more information on DIARIES & DATA: U.S. earnings diary  RESF/US   Wall Street Week Ahead   .N/O Global Economy Week Ahead DATA/ ................................................................ For latest top breaking news across all markets          NEWS1