Australian shares have risen as investors assess interest rate hikes and the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
However, subdued technology stocks limited the gains.
ASX 200 closed up 6 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 7,412, extending its gains to a fifth straight session.
Metals and mining stocks climbed 1.4 per cent, to hit a more than seven-month high, as iron ore futures extended gains for the second straight session after posting a fourth weekly gain on Friday.
Heavyweights Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and BHP Group rose between 0.8 per cent and 2.3 per cent.
However, Chalice Mining and Liontown Resources were down 4.9 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively.
Financials gained 0.6 per cent, with the country's four largest banks advancing between 0.2 per cent and 1.2 per cent.
Energy stocks were marginally down 0.1 per cent, with Paladin Energy diving 6 per cent to $0.78, as oil prices falling on prospects of a drop in fuel demand in China.
Major oil and gas explorer Woodside Petroleum dropped 1.3 per cent and Santos was flat.
Bucking the overall positive trend, the technology index retreated 2.7 per cent in its third consecutive session of losses.
Shares of Block (-3.7pc), WiseTech Global (-4.1pc) and Xero (-5.2pc) were leading the losses.
Among the best performers were AVZ Minerals (+4pc), Washington H. Soul Pattinson (+3.1pc) and Costa Group (+2.6pc).
Star Entertainment CEO resigns amid ongoing probe
Shares of Star Entertainment Group were up 0.3 per cent, to $3.24, after falling as much as 1.9 per cent in early trade.
The casino operator's chief executive officer, Matt Bekier, submitted his resignation on Monday amid an investigation over possible breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws at Star's establishments.
Mr Bekier’s decision to step down, effective immediately, followed public hearings in connection with a review of The Star Sydney hotel and casino that raised issues, the company added in a statement. The Star Sydney is Australia's second-largest casino.
He informed the board that, as managing director and chief executive, he was "accountable for the effectiveness and adequacy of the company’s processes, policies, people and culture", adding that the right thing to do was for him to take responsibility, the statement said.
The casino sector has been plagued by a slew of regulatory inquiries in Australia.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was up, at 75.22 US cents, by 4:35pm AEDT.
Oil prices turned positive on Friday after reports of a missile strike and a fire at Saudi Arabia's state-run oil company Aramco's facility.
Brent crude oil wound back a little, trading at $US117.04 a barrel, by 4:35pm AEDT.
US Treasury yields near three-year peak
The S&P 500 ended higher on Friday as financial shares rose after the benchmark Treasury yield jumped to its highest level in nearly three years.
The Nasdaq ended lower, and tech and other big growth names mostly declined, but they finished off session lows following a late-session rally.
Last week, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 registered solid gains of 2 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively, and the Dow was nominally higher with a 0.3 per cent rise.
The S&P 500 financials sector gave the S&P 500 its biggest boost on Friday, rising 1.3 per cent, while technology and consumer discretionary sectors were the only two major sectors to end lower on the day.
Investors are assessing how aggressive the Federal Reserve will be as it tightens policy after Fed Chair Jerome Powell this week said the central bank needed to move "expeditiously" to combat high inflation and raised the possibility of a 50-basis-point hike in rates in May.
US Treasury yields jumped on Friday, with the benchmark 10-year note surging to nearly three-year highs, as the market grappled with high inflation and a Federal Reserve that could easily spark a downturn as it aggressively tightens policy.
Ten-year Treasury yields were last at 2.492 per cent after earlier rising above 2.50 per cent for the first time since May 2019.
The equity market is pricing in a higher rate environment, said Keith Buchanan, portfolio manager at Globalt Investments in Atlanta.
That is causing bank stocks to outperform, while "adding more pressure to the riskier elements of the market," such as growth shares, he said.
Higher borrowing rates benefit banks, while higher rates are a negative for tech and growth stocks, whose valuations rely more heavily on future cash flows.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 153.3 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 34,861.24, the S&P 500 gained 22.9 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 4,543.06 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 22.54 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 14,169.30.
Economists at Citibank are expecting four 50-basis-points interest rate hikes from the Fed this year, joining other Wall Street banks in forecasting an aggressive tightening path against the backdrop of soaring inflation.
The US central bank last week raised interest rates for the first time since 2018.
"The market's really macro driven," said Steve DeSanctis, small- and mid-capitalisation equity strategist at Jefferies in New York. "Company fundamentals haven't really mattered."
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe was up 0.11 per cent, adding a second consecutive week of gains for the first time in 2022.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index also inched up 0.11 per cent, but was down on the week.
ABC/Reuters
