Australian Market Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is trading notably higher on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous four sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving well above the 9,250 level, with gains in mining and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 53.50 points or 0.58 percent to 9,281.30, after touching a high of 9,290.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 53.60 points or 0.57 percent to 9,459.00. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is advancing more than 2 percent and Rio Tinto is adding almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy and Santos are losing more than 1 percent each, while Beach energy is tumbling more than 5 percent and Origin Energy is down almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing almost 3 percent, WiseTech Global is declining more than 3 percent, Xero is down almost 1 percent and Appen is slipping almost 2 percent. Zip is flat.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Among gold miners, Genesis Minerals is surging more than 7 percent and Evolution Mining is jumping more than 6 percent, while Northern Star Resources, Resolute Mining and Newmont are advancing more than 5 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.706 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks extended their recent upward move in early trading on Wednesday but came under pressure over the course of the session. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 sliding into negative territory.

The major averages saw further downside going into the end of the day. While the Dow remained positive, climbing 263.24 points or 0.5 percent to 54,349.12, the S&P 500 dipped 12.97 points or 0.2 percent at 7,723.55 and the Nasdaq slid 221.55 points or 0.8 percent to 26,363.44.

The major European markets also turned mixed over the course of the session. While the German DAX Index fell by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index closed just above the unchanged line and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices were down for a third straight day on Wednesday on continued optimism for the reopening of Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $0.49 or 0.65 percent at $75.28 per barrel.