Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading modestly higher on Friday, adding to the gains in the previous six sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving to near the 8,200 level, with gains in financial and energy stocks partially offset by weakness in gold miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 29.70 points or 0.37 percent to 8,175.30, after hitting a low of 8,129.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 28.70 points or 0.34 percent to 8,394.40. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, Fortescue Metals is adding more than 1 percent and Rio Tinto is gaining almost 1 percent, while Mineral Resources is losing almost 1 percent and BHP Group is edging down 0.5 percent Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy, Beach energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Woodside Energy is edging up 0.3 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is plummeting more than 26 percent after slashing profit outlook and Zip is sliding more than 9 percent, while WiseTech Global, Appen and Xero are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is up almost 1 percent and Westpac is adding almost 2 percent, while ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are gaining 1.5 percent each. Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining, Gold Road Resources and Northern Star Resources are losing almost 2 percent each, while Newmont is down almost 1 percent and Resolute Mining is down more than 1 percent.

In other news, shares in Corporate Travel Management slumped more than 11 percent after the travel company said it expects to report lower revenue and earnings growth due to the impact of tariffs on client demand.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.640 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks gave back some ground over the course of the trading day on Thursday but remained mostly higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq hung on to a standout gain, ending the session at its best closing level in over a month.

The major averages moved to the downside going into the end of the day but still closed in positive territory. The Nasdaq jumped 264.40 points or 1.5 percent to 17,710.74, the S&P 500 climbed 35.08 points or 0.6 percent to 5,604.14 and the Dow rose 83.60 points or 0.2 percent to 40,752.96.

Meanwhile, with most major European markets closed for May Day, U.K. stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index eventually ended the day just above the unchanged line.

Crude oil prices saw considerable volatility Thursday but moved sharply higher after President Donald Trump threatened to impose sanctions on any country that purchases Iranian oil. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery jumped $1.03 or 1.8 percent to $59.24 a barrel.