Australian Market Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - Adding to the gains in the previous session, Australian shares are slightly higher on Wednesday, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,000 mark, following the mixed cues from global markets overnight, with weakness in technology stocks nearly offset by small gains in energy, mining and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 6.30 points or 0.09 percent to 7,062.40, after touching a high of 7,073.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 6.40 points or 0.09 percent to 7,250.80. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Mineral Resources is losing more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy and Santos are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Woodside Energy is gaining almost 1 percent. Origin Energy is losing almost 1 percent. In the tech space, WiseTech Global is losing almost 1 percent, Xero is slipping almost 3 percent and Appen is declining more than 1 percent, while Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 2 percent. Zip is flat.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank is gaining almost 1 percent, while Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each. Westpac is edging down 0.1 percent. Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources is gaining more than 2 percent, Gold Road Resources is advancing more than 1 percent and Evolution Mining is adding almost 1 percent, while Resolute Mining is losing almost 3 percent and Newcrest Mining is plunging almost 7 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.636 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks retreated and eventually ended on a mixed note on Tuesday after a weak start and a subsequent recovery that resulted in a brief spell in positive territory. Investors digested the data on U.S. retail sales and industrial production, and continued to track the developments on the geopolitical front.

Among the major averages, the Dow ended up 13.11 points or 0.04 percent at 33,997.65. The S&P 500 edged down 0.1 percent to 4,373.20, while the Nasdaq closed lower by 34.24 points or 0.25 percent at 13,533.75.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.58 percent, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 edged up 0.09 percent and 0.11 percent, respectively.

Crude oil futures settled flat on Tuesday after a lackluster session as investors continued to track the developments on the geopolitical front and weighed the outlook for global demand and supply. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended at $86.66 a barrel, unchanged from the previous close.