Australian stocks gained 18 points, or 0.2%, to 9,037 in early Friday trading, extending the previous session’s advance after overnight gains on Wall Street. Treasury yields declined after Fed Waller said he would be inclined to support keeping rates unchanged unless upcoming inflation data produced surprises. Domestically, August services growth was revised higher and confidence improved to near its level before the outbreak of war in the Middle East. Non-energy minerals, technology and healthcare led broad sector gains, with Cochlear Ltd. up 2.9%, Perseus Mining 2.1% and JB Hi-Fi Ltd. 1.5%; the four major banks rose between 0.4% and 1.0%. Despite Friday’s advance, Australian markets were on track to fall about 0.7% for the week as investors worried that stronger-than-expected second-quarter GDP data could prompt the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates again at its meeting later this month.