Australian Market Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - Recouping the losses in the previous session, the Australian stock market is notably higher on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying well above the 7,400 level, with gains across most sectors, led by mining and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 44.50 points or 0.60 percent to 7,470.90, after touching a high of 7,472.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 46.20 points or 0.60 percent to 7,695.80. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Fortescue Metals and Mineral Resources are gaining more than 1 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy is gaining more than 1 percent, Beach energy is advancing more than 2 percent, Santos is edging up 0.3 percent and Origin Energy is adding almost 2 percent.

Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global is gaining almost 1 percent and Xero is up more than 1 percent, while Appen is declining more than 2 percent, Zip is slipping almost 3 percent and Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.3 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star resources is gaining 1.5 percent and Gold Road Resources is up almost 1 percent, while Evolution Mining and Newmont are adding almost 1 percent each. Resolute Mining is flat.

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

In other news, shares in G8 Education are soaring almost 12 percent after the childcare operator showed a marked improvement in the second half of 2023 amid cost discipline.

In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia will on Tuesday release the minutes from its December 5 meeting. At the meeting, the policy board of the RBA decided to maintain the cash rate target at 4.35 percent. The board also retained the interest rate paid on Exchange Settlement balances at 4.25 percent. At the November meeting, the bank had lifted the rate by 25 basis points to a 12-year high, ending a four-session long pause.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.671 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Monday, adding to the strong gains last week. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 climbed firmly into positive territory, although the narrower Dow ended the day little changed.

While the Dow inched up 0.86 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 37,306.02, the Nasdaq rose 21.37 points or 0.5 percent to 4,740.56 and the S&P 500 climbed 90.89 points or 0.6 percent to 14,904.81.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index declined by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index slid by 0.6 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Monday on rising tensions in the Middle Ease due to recent attacks on ships crossing the Red Sea, which have raised supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $1.04 or 1.44 percent at $72.47 a barrel.