The materials sector ended the week in the red along with the broader S&P/ASX 200.
The index dipped 8.5 points, or 0.10%, to 8,214.50 points on Friday (11 October), with six of the 11 sectors closing the week lower.
Materials led the retreat with a 0.45% decrease. Energy, however, went against the trend to close 0.36% higher.
Traders are reportedly on the sidelines while they await the outcome of a China Ministry of Finance briefing due to take place today (12 October), which will shine a light on any plans for possible government support.
Gold producer Vault Minerals (ASX:VAU), which is the merged Red 5 and Silver Lake Resources, topped the index with a 7.81% gain. Regis Resources (ASX:RRL) also ended the week higher with a 4.35% jump.
Regis on Thursday released its production numbers for the September quarter, which placed total group production at 94,500 ounces, including 57,500 ounces of gold from the Duketon Gold Project and 37,000 ounces from the Tropicana joint venture.
This added a further $85 million to the miner’s cash and bullion balance, which now stands at $380 million.
The positive performance by the gold miners follows another advance in the gold price to US$2,645 ($3,929) an ounce following the release of monthly US consumer price data and weekly jobless claims.
Over the last five days, the S&P/ASX200 has gained 0.79% and is 0.86% off of its 52-week high.
The S&P/ASX200 is Australia’s leading share market index and contains the top 200 ASX-listed companies in terms of market capitalisation, and accounts for about 80% of the country’s equity market. The index is designed to measure the performance of the 200 largest index-eligible stocks listed on the ASX by float-adjusted market capitalisation
It is recognised as the institutional investable benchmark in the country.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: iStock & ASX
