Australian Market Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading notably higher on Friday, reversing the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,800 level, with gains energy and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in mining stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 66.70 points or 0.76 percent to 8,811.90, after touching a high of 8,812.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 71.20 points or 0.79 percent to 9,102.10. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is losing almost 1 percent, Mineral Resources is slipping more than 2 percent and Rio Tinto is declining more than 1 percent, while Fortescue is edging up 0.1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy, Santos and Woodside Energy are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is advancing more than 2 percent. Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global and Appen are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Zip is adding more than 2 percent, Xero is advancing almost 3 percent and Afterpay-owner Block is rising almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is gaining more than 1 percent and National Australia Bank is edging up 0.2 percent, while Westpac is losing almost 1 percent and ANZ Banking is edging down 0.2 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Gold Road Resources and Newmont are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Resolute Mining is losing more than 2 percent. Northern Star Resources is adding almost 1 percent and Evolution Mining is gaining more than 1 percent.

In other news, shares in Telix Pharmaceuticals are jumping more than 7 percent after Citi initiated coverage with a "buy" rating, saying the medical diagnostics giant's prostate cancer treatment has the potential to become a "blockbuster drug".

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.662 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks continued to turn in a strong performance throughout the day on Thursday after moving mostly higher early in the session. The major averages all moved to the upside after ending yesterday's trading mixed, reaching new record closing highs.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way higher, jumping 209.40 points or 0.9 percent to 22,470.73. The S&P 500 also climbed 31.61 points or 0.5 percent to 6,631.96, while the Dow rose 124.10 points or 0.3 percent to 46,142.42.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index surged by 1.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index posted a more modest gain, edging up 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices fell on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve hinted at a slowdown by the American economy. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was down $0.46 or 0.72 percent at $63.59 per barrel.