Australian shares reset a record closing high on Friday, shrugging off fears around US reciprocal tariffs and a minor sell-off in Commonwealth Bank shares that hit the bourse.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2 per cent, or 15.8 points, to 8555.80. The benchmark was up 0.5 per cent this week and the Australian dollar notched a two-month high of US63.28¢ against the greenback.

Eight of the 11 sectors finished in the green. Woolworths gained 1.8 per cent to $30.79 and Treasury Wine Estates jumped 3 per cent to $10.83. Gold reset a record, touching $US2932.05 an ounce, as demand for haven assets swelled.

US President Donald Trump announced new reciprocal tariffs on trade partners. The rules set to target value-added taxes raised concerns Australia could be hit because of its goods and services tax.

Traders took profits in Commonwealth Bank after the No. 1 lender claimed a fresh peak on Thursday. Its shares closed 0.8 per cent lower at $165.44.

Cochlear and AMP posted some of the biggest losses. Cochlear slumped 13.7 per cent to $262.73, its lowest since November 2023, after the company downgraded its full-year profit forecast. AMP halved its dividend, sending its shares plummeting 14.9 per cent to $1.49.

In commodities, iron ore prices topped $US108 a tonne on news a severe cyclone was approaching Australia’s Port Hedland – the nation’s biggest iron ore export port.

Stocks in focus

Equities manager GQG rose 3 per cent to $2.44 after doubling its net flows in the half-year to December 31, boosting funds under management, which rose by more than a quarter to $US153 billion.

Avita Medical’s shares leapt 11.3 per cent to $3.07 after the company increased commercial revenues by 29 per cent and announced a 2025 guidance range of $158 million to $167 million.

In other corporate news, Mirvac jumped 5.5 per cent to $2.11 on signs demand for its new residential housing developments was accelerating.

WAM Capital advanced 3.4 per cent to $1.67 after the listed investment company paid a 7.75¢ interim dividend and outperformed the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index by 8 percentage points in the December half.