News: API Financials, energy stocks lead rebound in Australian shares

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Australian shares rebounded on Friday from previous session's tech-driven sell-off, with financials and energy stocks leading gains, while James Hardie slumped after the world's top fibre cement maker ousted its chief for breaching code of conduct.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) closed 1.3% higher at 7,453.3, but was largely flat this week. The benchmark index tumbled 2.7% on Thursday.

Global markets attempted to recover on Friday from the previous session's battering, sparked by the potential for sooner-than-expected rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The sell-off saw investors dump shares of companies that don't do well in a higher-rate environment such as the technology sector.

"After the heavy sell-off yesterday, the paring back of some losses may seem to be playing out," said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at retail trading platform IG.

Financial stocks .AXFJ rallied 1.9% after having slumped 2.3% on Thursday, led by the country's four largest lenders climbing between 1.3% and 2.7%.

Energy stocks .AXEJ jumped 2.2% as crude prices inched up on supply worries amid the political unrest in Kazakhstan coinciding with a drop in production from Libya.

The tech sector .AXIJ rose 1.1%, despite a poor show overnight on the Nasdaq .IXIC , recovering slightly from the previous session's beating where it saw its worst day since March 2020. Buy-now-pay-later leader Afterpay Ltd (APT) added 3%.

James Hardie Industries (JHX) was the biggest drag in the benchmark as shares sank 4.1%. The company said Chief Executive Officer Jack Truong was fired on his work-related interactions over the last several months "extensively and materially" breaching the company's code of conduct.

Meanwhile, the takeover battle for Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API) ended as it accepted Wesfarmers' (WES) A$763.6 million ($546.9 million) bid after top grocer Woolworths Group (WOW) , which had made a superior offer, backed out.

Australian Pharmaceutical, which is not a part of the benchmark index, plunged 12.4%, while Wesfarmers advanced 0.7%.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) edged down 0.1% to 12,970.65.