Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading modestly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,200 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with tamer-than-expected increase in U.S. consumer prices helping ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 21.50 points or 0.30 percent to 7,224.80, after touching a high of 7,242.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 21.80 points or 0.30 percent to 7,411.00. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is losing more than 1 percent. OZ Minerals is edging up 0.1 percent.

Oil stocks are lower. Santos is edging up 0.4 percent, Woodside Energy is gaining almost 2 percent, Beach energy is adding almost 1 percent and Origin Energy is advancing 1.5 ercent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is surging more than 7 percent and Xero is gaining more than 1 percent, while Appen and WiseTech Global are down almost 1 percent each. Zip is losing more than 2 percent.

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

Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining and Gold Road Resources are gaining 2.5 percent each, while Evolution Mining is advancing more than 3 percent and Northern Star Resources is adding almost 2 percent. Resolute Mining is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.683 on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks gave back ground after an early rally on Tuesday but managed to finish the day mostly higher. The major averages added to the strong gains posted on Monday, further offsetting the steep drop seen last week.

After soaring by more than 700 points in early trading, the Dow briefly dipped into negative territory before closing up 103.60 points or 0.3 percent at 34,108.64. The Nasdaq jumped 113.08 points or 1.0 percent to 11,256.81, while the S&P 500 climbed 29.09 points or 0.7 percent to 4,019.65.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.3 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday due to concerns about supply disruptions amid the ongoing shutdown of the Keystone pipeline following a massive leak last week, while a weak dollar also supported oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $2.22 or 3 percent at $75.39 a barrel.