Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 breaking above the 7,000 mark, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors, materials, energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 46.60 points or 0.67 percent to 7,044.70, after touching a high of 7,049.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 48.60 points or 0.67 percent to 7,290.90. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources is gaining more than 2 percent, BHP Group is adding almost 1 percent and OZ Minerals is up more than 1 percent, while Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent.

Oil stocks are higher. Santos is gaining more than 2 percent, Beach energy is adding more than 3 percent, Origin Energy is up almost 2 percent and Woodside Energy is advancing almost 3 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 2 percent, Xero is adding almost 1 percent, Appen is surging more than 6 percent and Zip is advancing more than 5 percent, while WiseTech Global is losing more than 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Among gold miners, Resolute Mining and Gold Road Resources are adding almost 2 percent each, while Newcrest Mining is advancing almost 3 percent, Northern Star Resources is up more than 2 percent, Resolute Mining is down almost 2 percent and Evolution Mining is gaining almost 4 percent.

In other news, shares in Qantas are surging more than 7 percent after the airline reported a statutory loss for the full-year that halved from last year and a 54 percent jump in profit. It also announced a share buyback of $400 million.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.693 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks saw a choppy ride on Wednesday but the Dow and the S&P 500 still managed to snap a three-day losing streak and close on a positive note. The mood was cautious as investors looked ahead to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the central bank's economic symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday, for clues about the bank's outlook for the economy and interest rates.

Among rhe major averages, the Dow ended with a gain of 59.64 points or 0.18 percent at 32,969.23. The S&P 500 settled at 4,140.77, gaining 12.04 points or 0.29 percent, while the Nasdaq advanced 50.23 points or 0.41 percent to 12,431.53.

Meanwhile, the major European markets were mixed on the day. While the Germany's DAX advanced 0.2 percent and France's CAC 40 climbed 0.39 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 drifted down 0.22 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday, supported by data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, as well as news that OPEC may cut production to support prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September climbed $1.15 or 1.2 percent at $94.89 a barrel.