Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading modestly higher on Friday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving a tad above the 9,150 level, with gains in gold miners, energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 15.90 points or 0.18 percent to 9,054.10, after touching a high of 9,066.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 20.60 points or 0.22 percent to 9,263.80. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is edging down 0.4 percent, while BHP Group is edging up 0.1 percent and Fortescue is gaining almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy, Origin Energy and Santos are adding almost 1 percent each, while Beach energy is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay and Square-owner Block is gaining almost 3 percent and Xero is surging more than 5 percent, while Zip and WiseTech Global are advancing more than 3 percent each. Appen is jumping almost 11 percent after reporting upbeat first-half results on China growth.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Westpac are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each

Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star Resources and Newmont are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is adding almost 2 percent and Genesis Minerals is advancing more than 2 percent. Evolution Mining is edging down 0.1 percent.

In other news, shares in Dicker Data are jumping more than 13 percent after posting upbeat results for the first half of 2026 and lifting full-year guidance.

Shares in WAM Capital are tumbling almost 15 percent after trimming its full-year 2027 dividend target on a tough year and portfolio underperformance in fiscal 2026.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.720 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated in the afternoon but managed to end the day firmly positive after showing a notable upward move in morning trading on Thursday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a particularly strong move to the upside.

The Nasdaq jumped 411.16 points or 1.6 percent to 26,541.35 and the S&P 500 advanced 55.29 points or 0.7 percent to 7,730.99. The narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, rising 105.56 points or 0.2 percent to 53,569.44.

Meanwhile, most European stocks moved to the downside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.7 percent, although the German DAX Index bucked the downtrend and rose by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices soared on Thursday as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed despite efforts by Pakistan and Qatar to end the U.S.-Iran war. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.35 or 1.64 percent at $83.58 per barrel.