S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) has improved for a fourth straight session, buoyed by gains in financial, telco, retail, healthcare and mining stocks.
The market lost some earlier gains to close up 4 points or 0.1% to 6,180.
It is worth noting that the market has rallied 9.5% over the first three months of the year, marking the best start to the year since 1991.
Major miners gain
The major iron ore miners closed the week higher with some modest gains.
BHP Group (ASX:BHP) advanced 2.3% to $38.49, Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) rose 4% $97.91 and Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) closed at $7.11, up 7.9% for the week.
Lynas Corp (ASX:LYC) increased 28.6% to $2.09 after Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) made a $1.5 billion takeover offer for the rare earths miner.
Bubs milking it
Bubs Australia (ASX:BUB) shares have surged by 43% in March after entering a distribution partnership with a Chinese dairy company.
The infant formula maker’s shares remained in a trading halt ahead of an announcement regarding a proposed acquisition and capital raising.
Australian exports increasing
In economic news, Australia’s export earnings are forecast to hit a fresh record high of $277.8 billion over the year ending June 30 2019 as per the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.