Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - Rebounding from near 12-month lows and recouping the losses in the previous session, the Australian stock market is modestly higher on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moved to a tad below the 6,800 level, with gains in financial and energy stocks partially offsetting losses in mining and stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 25.50 points or 0.38 percent to 6,798.40, after touching a high of 6,816.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 24.60 points or 0.35 percent to 6,984.80. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group, Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Mineral Resources is losing more than 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is edging up 0.5 percent and Beach energy is adding more than 1 percent, while Origin Energy is edging down 0.3 percent. Woodside Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner, Xero and WiseTech Global are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while Zip is advancing more than 1 percent. Block is losing more than 3 percent. Appen is flat. Gold miners are mostly lower. Resolute Mining is declining almost 4 percent, Northern Star resources is losing almost 2 percent, Gold Road Resources is edging down 0.4 percent and Evolution Mining is down 1.5 percent. Newcrest Mining is flat.

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

In economic news, private sector credit in Australia was up 0.5 percent on month in September, the Reserve Bank of Australia said on Tuesday - up from 0.4 percent in August. On a yearly basis, credit climbed 4.9 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.637 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session on Monday, partly offsetting the steep losses posted last week. The major averages all showed significant moves to the upside following the mixed performance seen last Friday.

The major averages pulled back off their highs going into the close but held on to strong gains. The Dow spiked 511.37 points or 1.6 percent to 32,928.96, the Nasdaq jumped 146.47 points or 1.2 percent to 12,789.48 and the S&P 500 surged 49.45 points or 1.2 percent to 4,166.82.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index edged up by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices declined sharply Monday amid easing concerns about supply disruptions from the Middle East region. Investors are also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement and the non-farm payroll data for October on Friday. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December slumped $3.23 or 3.8 percent at $82.31 a barrel.