Miners, energy stocks push Australian shares higher; Nine Entertainment top gainer

Nine Entertainment Holdings

21/02/2025 24:28

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Friday, driven by gains in miners and
energy stocks on strong commodity prices, while Nine Entertainment  NEC.AX  emerged as the top
gainer on the benchmark after 60%-owned Domain Holdings Australia  DHG.AX  received a buyout
offer.
    The S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  was up 0.1% at 8,333.1 as of 0026 GMT. The benchmark has,
however, lost 2.6% so far in the week.
    Miners  .AXMM  climbed as much as 1.5% after iron ore prices closed higher overnight.
 IRONORE/ 
    BHP Group  BHP.AX , Rio Tinto  RIO.AX  and Fortescue  FMG.AX  gained between 0.2% and 1.6%
on Friday.
    Energy stocks  .AXEJ  gained up to 1.5%, on the back of strong oil prices.  O/R 
    Woodside Energy  WDS.AX  and Santos  STO.AX  were up 0.6% and 1.1%, respectively. 
    Financials sub-index  .AXFJ  advanced by 0.1%, with National Australia Bank  NAB.AX ,
Westpac  WBC.AX  and Commonwealth Bank of Australia  CBA.AX  up between 0.3% and 0.6%.     
    Shares of newspaper publisher and free-to-air television network owner Nine Entertainment
were up at 20.5%, to record its highest level since March 25, 2024. 
    Nine Entertainment, which owns 60% of Australia's Domain Holdings, was offered to be bought
by U.S. online real estate firm CoStar  CSGP.O  in a deal that values it at A$2.65 billion
($1.70 billion).
    On the earnings front, Sydney-based QBE Insurance  QBE.AX  advanced by 8% to record its
highest level in fifteen years, as full-year results beat analysts' estimates. 
    New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50  fell 0.7% to 12,790.99.
    Shares of dairy giant Fonterra  FCG.NZ  were up 3.5% after it forecast its earnings to meet
the upper half of its fiscal 2025 outlook, while hinting at paying a strong interim dividend. 
             


($1 = 1.5615 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
 ((Roshan.Thomas@thomsonreuters.com))
 
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