The S&P/ASX200 was up 19.4 points early Friday afternoon, or 0.22 per cent, at 8,733.7, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 21.6 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 9,040.4.
Nine of the market’s 11 sectors were higher, with materials and technology stocks the only sectors in negative territory.
Uranium producers surge on nuclear news
The energy sector was the day’s strongest performer, rising 0.8 per cent after strong gains among uranium producers.
The move followed news that US-based Duke Energy had filed an initial application to build a new nuclear reactor in North Carolina.
Paladin Energy, Deep Yellow, Boss Energy and Lotus Resources were all up just over five per cent. NexGen Energy gained 2.3 per cent, while Bannerman Energy climbed 3.9 per cent.
Elsewhere in the energy sector, Woodside Energy edged 0.5 per cent higher, while Santos slipped 0.1 per cent.
Biotech stocks extend gains
Health care stocks also moved higher, led by a strong showing among smaller biotechnology companies.
Mesoblast and Telix Pharmaceuticals both rose 2.1 per cent. Racura Oncology jumped 6.6 per cent, Clarity Pharmaceuticals added 7.8 per cent and Orthocell advanced 5.5 per cent.
Goldminers fall after Northern Star update
Goldminers were under pressure after Northern Star released a weaker-than-expected production update, even as gold prices held firm at US$4,375 an ounce.
The company said production had been hit by a series of “isolated negative events”, including a primary crusher failure at its Kalgoorlie processing centre that disrupted output for four weeks.
Northern Star shares dropped 9.5 per cent to a near two-month low of $24.19. Evolution Mining slipped 0.2 per cent and Westgold fell 0.4 per cent.
Big miners and banks post modest gains
In contrast, the major diversified miners were higher. BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto all gained 0.5 per cent.
All four major banks also traded higher.
Australian dollar little changed
The Australian dollar was trading at 66.97 US cents, slightly up from 66.95 US cents at 3.30pm AEDT on Wednesday.