Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading modestly higher on Wednesday after opening in the red, snapping a three-session losing streak, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling well below the 8,750 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with a mixed performance across most sectors.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 16.20 points or 0.19 percent to 8,720.40, after hitting a low of 8,585.50 and a high of 8,626.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 8.60 points or 0.10 percent to 8,833.40. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 1 percent and Rio Tinto is edging up 0.2 percent, while Fortescue is edging down 0.4 percent and Mineral Resources is losing almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Woodside Energy is losing almost 1 percent and Beach energy are edging down 0.5 percent, while Origin Energy and Santos are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are losing almost 2 percent each, while Appen is slipping almost 4 percent, and Xero is down almost 1 percent, while Zip is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Westpac is gaining almost 1 percent, while National Australia bank and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each. Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.1 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are losing almost 2 percent each, while Newmont is declining more than 2 percent, Resolute Mining is slipping almost 4 percent and Genesis Minerals is sliding almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.703 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks went on another roller coaster ride over the course of the trading session on Tuesday following the sell-off seen last Friday and the subsequent rebound on Monday. The major averages moved to the upside early in the session before pulling sharply only to regain ground in afternoon trading.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq eventually ended the session down 250.84 points or 1 percent at 25,678.82. The S&P 500 also fell 19.08 points or 0.3 percent to 7,386.65, while the narrower Dow rose 86.10 points or 0.2 percent to 50,872.11. The major European markets also displayed a mixed performance on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 1.4 percent and the German DAX Index slid by 0.7 percent, although the French CAC 40 Index bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices plunged on Tuesday after Israel and Iran halted their exchange of attacks. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $3.11 or 3.41 percent at $88.19 per barrel.