Australian shares gain as miners and banks advance
Nov 15 (Reuters) -Australian shares rose on Friday, led by index heavyweights miners and banks, while Woolworths and Coles said they would defend a class action lawsuit that alleged the retailers promoted misleading discount claims on everyday products.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.6% to 8,269.4 by 0011 GMT, after a 0.4% gain on Thursday. The benchmark index, however, was on track for a weekly fall of 0.3%.
Miners .AXMM climbed 0.3% on Friday, but were down 7.1% for the week in what could be their worst week since early September 2022.
Iron ore futures prices hit a three-week low on Thursday, although ANZ analysts said "the possibility of additional stimulus measures (from China) is high, which should keep sentiment in the iron ore and steel industry relatively buoyant."
BHP Group BHP.AX rose 0.2%, after a Brazilian court ruled the miner, Vale VALE3.SA and their joint venture Samarco are not criminally liable for the deadly 2015 Fundao tailings dam collapse.
Rate-sensitive financials .AXFJ rose 0.9%, extending gains to a second session as the central bank governor's comments on Thursday pointed towards higher-for-longer interest rates. The "Big Four" banks climbed between 0.1% and 0.8%.
Among individual stocks, Woolworths WOW.AX and Coles COL.AX gained 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively.
The consumer staples sector .AXSJ climbed 0.8% and was on track for its best day since Nov. 8.
Energy stocks .AXEJ rose 0.7% after oil prices closed slightly higher on Thursday. The sub-index was on track for a sixth consecutive week of losses.
Meanwhile, health stocks .AXHJ fell 1.6% with CSL CSL.AX, Australia's priciest stock, losing 1.8%.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.3% to 12729.28, as of 0011 GMT.
Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
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