Australian Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is sharply higher on Monday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,200 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets on Friday, with gains across all sectors, led by iron ore miners and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 80.10 points or 1.12 percent to 7,225.20, after touching a high of 7,232.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 78.50 points or 1.07 percent to 7,409.70. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 2 percent, Mineral Resources is adding more than 3 percent, Fortescue Metals is advancing almost 3 percent and Rio Tinto is up almost 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is advancing almost 3 percent, Woodside Energy is gaining almost 2 percent and Beach energy is up more than 1 percent, while Origin Energy is edging down 0.1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Zip is gaining almost 2 percent, Appen is edging up 0.3 percent, Afterpay owner Block is adding 2.5 percent and WiseTech Global is up almost 1 percent, while Xero losing almost 1 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Gold Road Resources is losing more than 2 percent, Resolute Mining is sliding almost 5 percent, Newcrest Mining is declining almost 3 percent and Northern Star Resources is down more than 1 percent, while Evolution Mining is gaining almost 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, , Westpac and National Australia Bank are gaining more than 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is up 1.5 percent and Commonwealth Bank is adding almost 1 percent.

In economic news, the services sector in Australia continued to expand in May, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Monday with a services PMI score of 52.1. That's down from 53.7 in April, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the composite index slipped to 51.6 in May from 53.0 in April.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.660 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Friday, adding to the strong gains posted in Thursday's session. With the continued upward move, the Nasdaq reached its best closing level in well over a year, while the S&P 500 set a new nine-month closing high.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but still posted strong gains. The Dow spiked 701.19 points or 2.1 percent to 33,762.76, the Nasdaq jumped 139.78 points or 1.1 percent to 13,240.77 and the S&P 500 surged 61.35 points or 1.5 percent to 4,282.37.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index spiked by 1.9 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index surged by 1.6 percent and the German DAX Index jumped by 1.3 percent.

Crude oil prices rallied on Friday, extending gains from the previous session following the passage of the debt ceiling bill and amid speculation OPEC may announce a cut in production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $1.64 or 2.3 percent at $71.74 a barrel.