Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 6,500 level, following the mostly positive cues overnight from global markets, as traders continue to pick up stocks at a bargain after the sell-off last week. Materials and energy stocks rebounded.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 14.20 points or 0.22 percent to 6,538.00, after touching a high of 6,557.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 11.90 points or 0.18 percent to 6,712.70. Australian stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources and BHP Group are adding almost 1 percent each. OZ Minerals is edging up 0.3 percent.

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

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Appen are edging up 0.2 percent each, while Zip is declining more than 6 percent, WiseTech Global is slipping almost 2 percent and Xero is losing almost 1 percent.

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

Among gold miners, Gold Road Resources is losing more than 1 percent, Resolute Mining is declining more than 2 percent, Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.3 percent and Newcrest Mining is down almost 1 percent, while Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.694 on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Tuesday with traders returning to their desks following the long holiday weekend. The major averages all showed strong moves to the upside after ending last Friday's volatile session mixed.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but still posted substantial gains. The Dow jumped 641.47 points or 2.2 percent to 30,530.25, the Nasdaq surged 270.95 points or 2.5 percent to 11,069.30 and the S&P 500 spiked 89.95 points or 2.5 percent to 3,764.79.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index edged up by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices bounced higher again Tuesday, recovering from the selloff in the previous session that was fueled by recession concerns. West Texas intermediate for August delivery jumped $1.53 or 1.4 percent to $109.52 a barrel.