The utilities sector advanced almost 2% at midday Friday, leading a broad-based rally.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq composite index, the S&P 500, and the Dow Jones all reached fresh intraday trading records.

Frontier Energy (ASX:FHE) nominated to become a five-year fixed price facility after the Australian Energy Market Operator assigned peak certified reserve capacity (CRC) to the Waroona stage one renewable energy project in Western Australia. The project was assigned a peak CRC of about 88.1 megawatts

However, the communication services sector was the only one trading in the red, falling 0.5%.

SKY Network Television (ASX:SKT, NZE:SKT) will continue its partnership with Formula 1 in New Zealand through a three-year rights renewal, starting from the new season in March 2026. All F1 practice, qualifying, and race sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sport and Sky Sport Now, along with highlights packages of all F1 races.