Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading modestly higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous three sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,000 mark, with gains across most sectors led by iron ore miners and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 16.60 points or 0.21 percent to 8,013.70, after touching a high of 8,014.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 17.00 points or 0.21 percent to 8,220.90. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is gaining almost 2 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing more than 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent and Beach energy is adding almost 3 percent, while Santos and Woodside Energy are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and Xero are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Appen and Zip are adding more than 1 percent each. WiseTech Global is edging down 0.3 percent.

Gold miners are mixed. Evolution Mining is edging down 0.5 percent, Gold Road Resources is losing almost 1 percent and Northern Star resources is declining almost 5 percent, while Newmont is edging up 0.1 percent and Resolute Mining is gaining more than 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Westpac is gaining almost 1 percent, while Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each. ANZ Banking is edging down 0.2 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.643 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Monday, extending the volatility seen during last Friday's session. After showing a lack of direction early in the session, stocks came under pressure in late morning and early afternoon trading before rebounding going into the end of the day.

The major averages eventually ended the day narrowly mixed. While the Nasdaq edged down 16.81 points or 0.1 percent to 17,366.13, the S&P 500 inched up 3.54 points or 0.1 percent to 5,528.75 and the Dow rose 114.09 points or 0.3 percent to 40,227.59.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index inched up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just above the unchanged line.

Crude oil prices showed a significant move back to the downside during trading on Monday after rebounding from last Wednesday's slump over the two previous sessions. West Texas Intermediate for June delivery tumbled $0.97 or 1.5 percent to $62.05 a barrel after rising $0.23 or 0.4 percent to $63.02 a barrel last Friday.