Australian Market Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is slightly higher on Friday after opening in the red, extending the gains in the previous three sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying well above the 8,500 level, with a mixed performance across most sectors. Energy stocks are the only weak spot.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 9.20 points or 0.11 percent to 8,529.90, after hitting a low of 8,498.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 11.40 points or 0.13 percent to 8,796.50. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is gaining more than 1 percent. Mineral Resources is losing almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy, Woodside Energy and Santos are losing almost 1 percent each, while Beach energy is declining more than 6 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is losing almost 1 percent, while Xero and Zip are edging down 0.5 percent each. WiseTech Global is gaining more than 1 percent. Appen is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.3 percent each, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.1 percent each. Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent and Resolute Mining is declining almost 4 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Newmont are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each. Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.2 percent.

In other news, shares in Domino's Pizza are skyrocketing more than 20 percent after the company announced the closure of 205 loss-making stores, mostly in Japan.

Shares in Nick Scali are jumping more than 14 percent after the company posted net profit for the half-year to December that exceeded guidance.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.628 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Thursday, with the major averages swinging back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing mixed.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new highs for the session going into the end the day, closing higher for the third straight session. The Nasdaq climbed 99.66 points or 0.5 percent to 19,791.99 and the S&P 500 rose 22.09 points or 0.4 percent to 6,083.57, but the narrower Dow fell 125.65 points or 0.3 percent to 44,747.63.

Meanwhile, the major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index shot up by 1.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both surged by 1.5 percent.

Crude oil prices saw further downside on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump repeated his pledge to increase U.S. oil production in an effort to lower prices. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery slid $0.42 or 0.6 percent to a one-month low of $70.61 a barrel.