- ASX200 closed 1.19% higher on Friday at a record 7179.50.
- Laybuy surged on full-year results including record income.
- Klarna Australia Chief Executive departs in local team restructure.
The Australian market closed 1.19% higher on Friday at 7179.50 as the mining, materials and resources sectors boosted the key index to a record high close. For the week the ASX added 2.12% over the 5-day period.
The tech sector closed lower on Friday after a strong week for tech stocks as a 5.35% loss for Nuix led the tech losses. Wisetech closed the day 1.8% lower and Xero shed 1.2%.
Bitcoin is tumbling this afternoon, down 3.71% in the last 24-hours at US$36,790.44 at 4:30pm AEST.
Fintech payment services provider Laybuy surged 6% today after revealing its full-year results . The positive results included a record income of NZ$32.6m up 138% YoY and active customers in the UK growing 433%. The number of participating Laybuy merchants in the UK grew from 335 to 1785 in a year.
Making headlines, Swedish-based BNPL leader Klarna's Australian Chief Executive Fran Ereira has departed alongside three other senior team members as the company struggles to compete with the likes of Afterpay and Zip in the Australian market. Klarna , which is part-owned by the Commonwealth Bank, raised US$1bn this week ahead of a highly anticipated US IPO.
And a new study into smart watch features shows they can predict the results of a blood test using machine learning to report data on heart rate, body temperature and daily activity to indicate early signs of some conditions including changes in dehydration, anemia and more.