However, market gains capped on caution ahead of the release of the U.S. Labor Department's more closely watched monthly jobs report later in the day for clues about the Fed's timelines for asset tapering and interest rate hikes.
At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 advanced 37.15 points, or 0.5%, to 7,522.90. The broader All Ordinaries added 42.89 points, or 0.55%, to 7,826.70.
Total 10 of 11 sectors ended higher along with the S&P/ASX 200 Index. Material was the best performing sector, gaining +1.31%, followed by utilities (up 0.91%), and energy (up 0.88%), while information technology was the worst performing sector, falling 0.78%.
The top performing stocks in the top performing stocks in the S&P/ASX 200 index were OROCOBRE and ALUMINA, up 7.1% and 6.68% respectively, while the worst performing stocks were RAMELIUS RESOURCES and BLUESCOPE STEEL, down 3.3% and 3% respectively.
ECONOMIC NEWS: the services sector in Australia continued to contract in August, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Markit Economics revealed on Friday with a services PMI score of 42.9. That's down from 44.2 in July and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that its composite index fell to 43.3 in August from 45.2 in July.
The total value of retail sales in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 2.7% on month in July, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday, coming in at A$29.778 billion, following the 1.8% decline in June. On a yearly basis, retail sales fell 3.1%.
CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.208 off levels above 92.7 seen earlier in the week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7421 following its climb earlier in the week from below $0.732.
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