Australian shares closed higher on Friday as oil prices receded, with investors looking past a tech slide on Wall Street driven by concerns over OpenAI's revenue-generating capabilities.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 55.7 points, or 0.64%, to close at 8,716.60.

Overnight in the US, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.3% while the S&P 500 lost 0.5%.

West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude futures both shed more than 1% after US President Donald Trump said he would not order any attacks on Iran before midterm elections due in November.

In domestic news, Westpac said it expects Australian employment to rise by 20,000 in September, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.6% amid mixed signals on labor demand.

Meanwhile, Australia's national rents rose 0.5% in the September quarter, slowing from a 1.6% increase in the previous quarter, as stretched affordability and slower population growth eased rental demand and lifted the national vacancy rate to 2.1%, Cotality said.

On the outlook for borrowing costs, Bendigo Bank expects Australia's central bank to keep the cash rate at 4.6% through December unless upcoming employment or inflation data deliver major surprises.

In corporate news, Firmus Grid, which is backed by Maas Group Holdings (ASX:MGH), pulled out of a planned initial public offering in Australia due to unfavorable market conditions and volatility. Maas Group said it will continue to deliver on contracts with the data center operator. The company's shares closed nearly 6% lower.

Li-S Energy (ASX:LIS) shares surged 15% after it signed an agreement for the supply of its lithium sulfur batteries to power Safesky Systems's fleet of tactical drones.

Shares of Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) plunged almost 11% after Goldman Sachs lowered its rating on the uranium producer to sell from neutral.