Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Friday after opening in the red, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,500 level, following the mostly positive cues from global markets overnight, with gains is financial stocks partially offset by weakness in mining and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 29.20 points or 0.39 percent to 7,540.80, after touching a high of 7,547.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 27.10 points or 0.35 percent to 7,755.60. Australian markets ended slightly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are losing more than 2 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is declining almost 2 percent and Mineral Resources is edging down 0.3 percent. OZ Minerals is flat.

Oil stocks are mixed. Beach energy is gaining 1.5 percent and Santos is edging up 0.1 percent, while Origin Energy is losing almost 2 percent. Woodside Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.5 percent, WiseTech Global is losing more than 1 percent and Zip is down almost 1 percent, while Appen is adding almost 1 percent and Xero is edging up 0.3 percent. Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is gaining almost 2 percent, National Australia Bank is adding more than 1 percent, Westpac is advancing 1.5 percent and Commonwealth Bank is up almost 1 percent.

Gold miners are lower. Northern Star Resources is losing 2.5 percent, Gold Road Resources is slipping almost 5 percent and Evolution Mining is declining almost 3 percent, while Newcrest Mining and Resolute Mining are down almost 2 percent each.

In economic news, the total value of overall home loans in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 4.3 percent on month in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday - coming in at A$23.44 billion. That missed expectations for a decline of 2.8 percent following the 3.8 percent drop in November. On a yearly basis, overall loans plunged 29.3 percent, owner-occupied home loans tumbled 29.8 percent and investment lending dropped 28.3 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.707 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday, extending the rally seen late in the previous session. Tech stocks helped lead the advance, resulting in a substantial increase by the Nasdaq.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq soared 384.50 points or 3.3 percent to a nearly five-month closing high of 12,200.82 and the S&P 500 jumped 60.55 points or 1.5 percent to 4,179.76, while the narrower Dow spent most of the day in negative territory, with the blue chip index edging down 39.02 points or 0.1 percent to 34,053.94.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index surged by 2.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.8 percent.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Thursday, weighed down by data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories last week. The dollar's recovery and uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand due to concerns about a global recession also hurt. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March fell $0.53 or 0.7 percent at $75.88 a barrel.