Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - Bolstered by the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, Australian shares are gaining for the sixth straight session on Thursday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 7,100 level, with gains across most sectors led by financial and technology stocks after minutes of the US Fed's last meeting raised expectations it will hold interest rates steady next month.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 16.40 points or 0.23 percent to 7,104.80, after touching a high of 7,112.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 16.80 points or 0.23 percent to 7,298.10. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are edging down 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.3 percent and Mineral Resources is losing almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Santos is losing almost 1 percent and Woodside Energy is edging down 0.1 percent, while Origin Energy and Beach energy are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each.

In the tech space, WiseTech Global is gaining almost 1 percent, Xero is adding more than 1 percent and Appen is up almost 3 percent, while Afterpay owner Block and Zip are advancing almost 2 percent each.

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

Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining and Gold Road Resources are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are adding almost 1 percent each. Resolute Mining is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.642 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Wednesday but managed to end the day mostly higher. With the upward move, the major averages all closed higher for the fourth consecutive session.

The major averages moved to the upside going into the close, ending the session near their best levels of the day. The Nasdaq advanced 96.83 points or 0.7 percent to 13,659.68, the S&P 500 climbed 18.71 points or 0.4 percent to 4,376.95 and the Dow rose 65.57 points or 0.2 percent to 33,804.87.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session, as Saudi Arabia's pledge to help stabilize the market outweighed concerns about supply disruptions amid the tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November sank $83.49 a barrel, down $2.48 or 2.9 percent.