Australian shares climb on boost from miners

Australian shares climbed on Friday after a three-session slide, as easing COVID-19 restrictions in top trading partner China boosted hopes for export demand revival.

The S&P/ASX 200 index XJO rose 0.4% by 2331 GMT, but was on track for its worst week since Sept. 30. S&P 500 E-minis futures ES1! were down 0.06%.

China on Wednesday announced the most sweeping changes to its resolute anti-COVID regime since the pandemic began three years ago, loosening rules that curbed the spread of the virus but sparked protests and hobbled the world's second-largest economy.

In Australia, miners XXMM led the advance with a gain of 1.2%. The sub-index was on track for a sixth straight weekly gain.

Iron ore behemoths BHP BHP and Rio Tinto RIO climbed more than 1% each on Friday.

Financials XFJ edged higher, with the so called 'big four' up between 0.1% and 0.8%.

Tech stocks XXIJ climbed 0.9%, tracking gains in their Wall Street peers as market participants saw a rise in weekly jobless claims as a signal that the pace of interest rate hikes could soon slow.

ASX-listed shares of Block Inc SQ rose nearly 3%, while network-as-a-service provider Megaport MP1 climbed 4% and led gains on the sub-index.

Separately, Nitro Software (NTO.AX) gained nearly 2% after it got a higher A$2 per-share offer with a scrip alternative from private equity firm Potentia Capital, matching a rival bid from KKR Inc's KKR Alludo.

Gold XGD and energy XEJ stocks slipped 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.

Newcrest Mining (NCM.AX), the country's largest gold miner, lost 0.8%, while oil and gas major Woodside Energy WDS slid 0.1%.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index NZ50G rose 0.1% to 11,631.89. The country's manufacturing sales volumes rose 3.1% in the third quarter.