Australian Market Significantly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading significantly higher on Wednesday, recouping the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,000 mark, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors, led by technology and gold mining stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 75.30 points or 1.08 percent to 7,021.50, after touching a high of 7,041.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 76.60 points or 1.07 percent to 7,207.70. Australian stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is advancing almost 3 percent. OZ Minerals is flat.

Oil stocks are mixed. Santos is losing almost 1 percent and Woodside Energy is declining almost 2 percent, while Beach energy is edging up 0.3 percent and Origin Energy is gaining more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Appen are surging more than 4 percent each, while Xero is gaining almost 3 percent, WiseTech Global is adding almost 2 percent and Zip is up almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Westpac is adding almost 2 percent. ANZ Banking is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining and Gold Road Resources are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Evolution Mining, Resolute Mining and Northern Star Resources are advancing almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.674 on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks finished Tuesday's trading mostly lower, starting the New Year off on a negative note. The major averages saw initial strength but came under pressure over the course of morning trading.

The major averages climbed well off their worst levels late in the session but remained in negative territory. The Dow edged down 10.88 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 33,136.37, the Nasdaq slid 79.50 points or 0.8 percent to 10,386.98 and the S&P 500 fell 15.36 points or 0.4 percent to 3,824.14.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.4 percent, the German DAX Index climbed by 0.8 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to rising fears of a recession. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended down $3.33 or 4.2 percent at $76.93 a barrel, a two-week low.