Australian Market Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading slightly higher on Friday, extending the gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying above the 9,000 mark, with gains in iron ore miners and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in gold miners and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 7.00 points or 0.08 percent to 9,039.80, after touching a high of 9,054.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 9.50 points or 0.10 percent to 9,338.60. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is edging up 0.2 percent, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 2 percent and Mineral Resources is surging more than 5 percent. Fortescue is flat.

Oil stocks are mixed. Origin Energy and Santos are edging down 0.2 to 0.3 percent each, while Woodside Energy is adding more than 1 percent and Beach energy is gaining almost 2 percent. Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is gaining almost 3 percent, Zip is adding more than 2 percent, Appen is up almost 1 percent and WiseTech Global is advancing more than 3 percent, while Xero is edging down 0.1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Westpac is flat.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Resolute Mining is down almost 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is losing more than 1 percent and Newmont is declining almost 4 percent, while Evolution Mining and Genesis Minerals are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia slipped into contraction in October, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.7. That's down from 51.4 in September, and it falls beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The services PMI improved to 53.1, up from 52.4 in September, while the composite ticked up to 52.6 from 52.4 a month earlier.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.651 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved back to the upside during trading on Thursday following the weakness seen in the previous session. The major averages all moved higher on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a notable advance.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the end of the day but remained in positive territory. The Nasdaq jumped 201.40 points or 0.9 percent to 22,941.80, the S&P 500 climbed 39.04 points or 0.6 percent to 6,738.44 and the Dow rose 144.20 points or 0.3 percent at 46,734.61.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both crept up by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Thursday, extending gains from the past two sessions, as the U.S. imposed sanctions against Russian oil majors. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was up $3.22 or 5.50 percent at $61.72 per barrel.