ASX 200 posts best week of the year as supermarkets surge

A rally in Woolworths and Coles shares on Friday helped the ASX finish higher on Friday, helping to lift the ASX to its best weekly gain in 2025.

The ASX 200 had its best week for the year. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Woolworths and Coles helped lift the ASX higher on Friday, after the two major supermarket chains posted their best day in four years following a major report into their practices.

The benchmark ASX200 index gained 12.30 points or 0.16 per cent to close Friday’s trading session at 7,931.20 points. It is up 1.7 per cent for the first time in four weeks.

The broader All Ordinaries rose by 9.80 points or 0.12 per cent to close at 8,158.70 points.

The Australian dollar fell 0.27 per cent and is buying 62.85 US cents.

The ASX 200 had its best week for the year. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Shares in Woolworths and Coles soared on Friday after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released its final report into the review into high grocery prices.

While the regulator does not think the supermarket chains need to be broken up, they did make 20 recommendations after concluding along with Aldi, Australia’s supermarkets are among the most profitable in the world.

“The ASX200’s gains today have come courtesy of a rally in the two major supermarket stocks,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.

“Their gains followed the release of the competition regulator’s findings, which concluded that Woolworths and Coles should not be forcibly broken up.”

Woolworths share price soared 6.32 per cent to $29.93, while Coles closed up 4.85 per cent to $19.46. It was the best day in four years for the two largest supermarkets.

It was also a strong day for Metcash up 3.57 per cent to $3.19.

Overall, six of the 11 sectors closed higher, led by consumer staples which was up 3.91 per cent.

Materials and healthcare were the major losers, as US President Donald Trump used his emergency powers to increase American production of critical minerals, which would possibly include coal, to become less reliant on China.

The price in iron ore slipped below $US100 a tonne on the back of this while the price of coal also tumbled.

BHP rose 1.04 per cent to $39.54 and Rio Tinto closed the week higher up 0.91 per cent to $118.58 on Friday.

On the flip side Fortescue fell 0.94 per cent to $15.79, BlueScope Steel sank 2.53 per cent to $22.36 and Mineral Resources slid 2.69 per cent to $22.76.

Yancoal dropped 1.89 per cent to $5.20 while Whitehaven Coal is now trading down 2.72 per cent to $5.72.

Consumer staples led the market higher. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

The healthcare sector also traded down, as investors focused on the next phase of the Trump tariff plan.

AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said the Australian pharmaceutical sector could be affected.

“While we are not the main focus of Trump’s ire, the risk remains high of more tariffs on our exports to the US – notably pharmaceuticals (worth $2.1bn last year) and meat ($6.1bn) and all our exports generally (totalling $23.8bn) as part of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs given US gripes with our bio security laws, GST, pharmaceutical benefits scheme (which favours generic drugs), our social media laws and our lower level of defence spending,” he wrote.

Major healthcare provider CSL fell 0.52 per cent to $254, while Sigma Healthcare is trading 1.37 per cent lower to $2.87 and ASX darling Pro Medicus dived 6.47 per cent to $223.58.

Premier Investment came out with its half-yearly results with a slide of 34 per cent in net profit after tax to $117.1m compared with the first half of 2024.

Premier Investment soared 3.85 per cent to $21.85 on the back of Friday’s results.

Originally published as ASX 200 posts best week of the year as supermarkets surge