Australian Market Significantly Higher

(RTTNews) - Adding to the gains in the previous three sessions, the Australian stock market is trading significantly higher on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving well above the 8,300 level, with gains across most sectors led by energy and mining stocks amid upbeat commodity prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 64.90 points or 0.78 percent to 8,365.10, after touching a high of 8,367.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 65.60 points or 0.77 percent to 8,620.00. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is losing almost 2 percent.

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

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is surging more than 6 percent, Zip is gaining 1.5 percent and Appen is adding more than 2 percent, while WiseTech Global and Xero are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources, Newmont and Northern Star resources are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Evolution Mining is adding almost 3 percent and Resolute Mining is skyrocketing almost 16 percent.

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

In other news, shares in TechnologyOne are climbing more than 11 percent after the enterprise software company posted a 15 percent increase in full-year net profit and booked a 17 percent jump in revenue. It also declared a full-year dividend of 22.45¢ apiece.

In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia will on Tuesday release the minutes from its November 5 monetary policy meeting. At the meeting, the RBA maintained its benchmark interest rate at a 13-year high of 4.35 percent for the eighth straight session, saying that underlying inflation remains too high. The bank had previously changed its rate in November 2023, when it was lifted by 25 basis points to the highest level since late 2011.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.650 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved back to the upside during trading on Monday following the sell-off seen during last Friday's session. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 regained ground, although the narrower Dow ended the day modestly lower.

While the Nasdaq climbed 111.69 points or 0.6 percent to 18,791.81 and the S&P 500 rose 23.00 points or 0.4 percent to 5,893.62, the Dow edged down 55.39 points or 0.1 percent to 43,389.60.

The major European markets also turned mixed over the course of the session. While the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Monday on concerns about likely shortage in supplies due to an escalation in Russia - Ukraine war, while a weaker dollar also contributed to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December closed higher by $2.14 or 3.2 percent at 69.16 a barrel.