WiseTech shares soar after the CEO of WiseTech takes on a new role.

Australian shares rose Friday, with mining and technology stocks leading the way. WiseTech surged after its former CEO moved into a consultant role, and Whitehaven Coal soared on higher-than-expected quarter output.

As of 2347 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 8231.3. The benchmark is expected to lose 0.6% per week, the biggest loss since late September.

Even as iron ore fell, miners gained 0.3%, and they were on course for a weekly increase of 0.1%. This is their first gain in four weeks.

BHP gained 0.2% and Rio Tinto 0.9%. Fortescue, however, continued to lose money, dropping 0.1%, after it announced higher costs on Friday.

Whitehaven gained nearly 8% during its best trading session in mid-August after the country's largest independent coal miner expressed optimism about metallurgical prices rising further and reported first-quarter production ahead of expectations.

Tech stocks gained 5.9% after seven sessions of falling, following the overnight gains on Wall Street.

WiseTech Global's best trading session was in late August 2021, when it surged by 22.1%.

Richard White, the billionaire CEO and founder of tech giants, stepped down from his position but decided to remain at the company as a consultant after a series damaging allegations regarding his personal life.

The energy sector rose by 0.5%, despite the drop in oil prices. Sector leader Woodside added 0.2% while Santos remained flat.

Gold stocks fell 2.2% despite the decline in bullion. Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining both rose by 1.4%.

Qantas Airways increased its record high by up to 1.6% after it raised its revenue expectations for the first half of its domestic operations. The airline also forecast lower fuel costs due to a fall in global prices.

The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index in New Zealand rose by 0.1%, to 12,821.7.

(source: Reuters)