PLS Group share price slides on cost jump, Ngungaju restart talk jars investors

Australia’s top share index edged up Friday, boosted by gains in banks and tech stocks, while energy and materials took a hit. The S&P/ASX 200 finished 0.48% higher at 8,903.9, with the All Ordinaries rising 0.46%. Technology rallied 1.17%, and financials climbed 0.99%. Westpac jumped 1.8% to A$39.19, Macquarie gained 2.6% to A$211.86. Meanwhile, lithium players like Pilbara dropped 3.1%, dragged down by a roughly 9% fall in China’s benchmark lithium carbonate futures from settle to close.