Australian Market Significantly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is significantly higher on Tuesday, recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 just below the 6,800 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in mining and energy stocks amid a rebound in commodity prices. Financial stocks also gained.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 69.00 points or 1.03 percent to 6,788.90, after touching a high of 6,807.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 66.80 points or 0.96 percent to 7,015.40. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is gaining more than 1 percent, Mineral Resources is adding almost 3 percent , OZ Minerals is up almost 1 percent and BHP Group is advancing 1.5 percent. Fortescue Metals is flat.

Oil stocks are higher. Origin Energy is gaining more than 3 percent, while Beach energy, Santos and Woodside Energy are adding more than 1 percent each. Among tech stocks, Appen is gaining almost 3 percent, Xero is adding almost 1 percent, WiseTech Global is up 1.5 percent and Zip is edging up 0.3 percent, while Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 1 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining is gaining more than 2 percent, Gold Road Resources is advancing more than 3 percent, Northern Star Resources is up more than 1 percent, Resolute Mining is adding almost 1 percent and Newcrest Mining is rising almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is gaining almost 2 percent and ANZ Banking is up almost 1 percent, while Westpac and National Australia Bank are adding 1.5 percent each.

In other news, shares in Now Hope are surging more than 7 percent after the coal miner reported a surge in annual profit on soaring coal prices.

In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia will release the minutes from its monetary policy meeting on September 6. At the meeting, the RBA raised its key interest rate by a half-percentage point on Tuesday to bring inflation back to the target and create a more sustainable balance of demand and supply in the Australian economy. The RBA hiked the cash rate target by 50 basis points to 2.35 percent, the highest since late 2014.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.672 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks recovered from an initial move to the downside and spent much of the trading session on Monday showing a lack of direction before advancing going into the close. The major averages all regained ground following the steep losses posted last week.

The major averages reached new highs late in the session, ending the day firmly positive. The Dow rose 197.26 points or 0.6 percent to 31,019.68, the Nasdaq advanced 86.62 points or 0.8 percent to 11,535.02 and the S&P 500 climbed 26.56 points or 0.7 percent to 3,899.89. Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index decreased by 0.6 percent.

Crude oil prices recovered Monday after falling sharply, rebounding to end on a firm note amid concerns about supplies. A fairly steady dollar amid possible sharp hikes in interest rates limited oil's upside. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended higher by $0.62 or 0.7 percent at $85.73 a barrel.