Australian Market Significantly Higher

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading significantly higher on Wednesday, adding to the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving well above the 8,950 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in mining and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 76.30 points or 0.86 percent to 8,975.70, after touching a high of 8,989.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 71.20 points or 0.77 percent to 9,279.70. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Fortescue and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Mineral Resources is gaining more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy and Santos are losing almost 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is edging down 0.2 percent. Beach energy is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 2 percent and WiseTech Global is adding almost 2 percent, while Appen is losing more than 1 percent and Xero is edging down 0.1 percent. Zip is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking, Westpac and National Australia bank are all gaining almost 2 percent each. Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources and Newmont are adding more than 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is edging up 0.2 percent and Genesis Minerals is gaining almost 2 percent. Evolution Mining is losing almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.649 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks saw substantial volatility over the course of the trading day on Tuesday following the notable rebound seen in the previous session. The major averages recovered from a significant early pullback only to once again come under pressure late in the session.

The major averages eventually ended the session mixed. While the Dow climbed 202.88 points or 0.4 percent to 46,270.46 after plunging more than 600 points in early trading, the S&P 500 dipped 10.41 points or 0.2 percent to 6,644.31 and the Nasdaq slid 172.91 points or 0.8 percent to 22,521.70.

The major European markets also ended mixed on the day. The German DAX Index is down by 0.7 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is just above the unchanged line.

Crude oil prices pulled back sharply on Tuesday as renewed trade tensions between the U.S. and China have heightened, while forecasts predicting low demand in the months ahead also weighed. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was down $0.70 or 1.18 percent at $58.79 per barrel.