Australian shares jumped on Friday following a second interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.
The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8% or 68.80 points to close at 8,295.10.
The US central bank cut interest rates by 0.25% as inflation continued to move toward its 2% target, Reuters reported.
"The Fed didn't rock the boat," said Carson Group's Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick, as cited in the report.
"The big question now is will they cut again in December? Our best guess is they do, as inflation continues to improve," Detrick added.
On the domestic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that Australia's 13-industry aggregate business turnover measure rose 0.2% in September following a 0.7% decline in August.
Meanwhile, ANZ Research said in a note that Australia is expected to see a "robust" increase in employment in October, suggesting that the downward trend in the jobs market is now receding.
In corporate news, News Corporation (ASX:NWS) reported attributable net income of $0.21 per share for the fiscal first quarter, up from $0.05 per share a year ago. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha expected EPS of $0.17. The company's shares closed up over 2%.
ANZ Group Holdings (ASX:ANZ, NZE:ANZ) reported earnings of AU$1.045 per share for the fiscal second half, down 10% from AU$1.16 per share in the first half ended March. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha expected EPS of AU$1.10. The bank's shares ended more than 1% higher.
Lastly, Arcadium Lithium (ASX:LTM) reported earnings of $0.01 per share for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, down from $0.17 per share in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha expected EPS of $0.04. The company's shares were down 2% at market close.
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