Australian Market Significantly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading significantly higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving to above the 6,800 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, led by gains in technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 42.80 points or 0.63 percent to 6,822.20, after touching a high of 6,831.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 40.80 points or 0.59 percent to 7,019.20. Australian stocks closed sharply higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals and OZ Minerals are losing almost 2 percent each, while BHP Group and Rio Tinto are down almost 1 percent each. Mineral Resources is edging up 0.1 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Beach energy is gaining more than 1 percent and Santos is up almost 1 percent, while Origin Energy and Woodside Energy are edging down 0.3 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining 1.5 percent, WiseTech Global is up almost 1 percent and Xero is adding more than 2 percent, while Zip and Appen are advancing almost 2 percent each.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star Resources is gaining almost 1 percent, Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.4 percent and Resolute Mining is advancing almost 3 percent, while Newcrest Mining and Evolution Mining are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is gaining more than 1 percent and Westpac is edging up 0.5 percent, while National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are adding almost 1 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.634 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated early in the session on Monday but moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day. The major averages added to the strong gains posted in the previous session, with the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching their best closing levels in a month. The major averages pulled back off their highs of the session going into the close but remained firmly positive. The Dow surged 417.06 points or 1.3 percent to 31,499.62, the Nasdaq advanced 92.90 points or 0.9 percent to 10,952.61 and the S&P 500 jumped 44.59 points or 1.2 percent to 3,797.34.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both jumped by 1.6 percent.

Crude oil prices moved lower on Monday, giving ground following the advance seen last Friday. The pullback reflected lingering concerns about the outlook for global demand, particularly in China. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery fell $0.47 or 0.6 percent to $84.58 a barrel.