Australian Market Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading slightly higher on Friday, reversing some of the losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,750 level, with gains in mining and energy stocks partially offset weakness in technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 3.60 points or 0.04 percent to 8,752.30, after touching a high of 8,774.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 1.30 points or 0.02 percent to 8,952.90. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is adding more than 2 percent, while Mineral Resources, Fortescue and BHP Group are gaining more than 1 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is gaining almost 2 percent, Origin Energy is edging up 0.2 percent, Woodside Energy is adding almost 1 percent and Santos is up more than 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay and Square-owner Block and Zip are losing almost 1 percent each, while WiseTech Global is declining almost 4 percent, Appen is slipping more than 2 percent and Xero is down more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while ANZ Banking is gaining almost 1 percent. Westpac is flat.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star Resources is up almost 2 percent, Evolution Mining is gaining more than 2 percent, Genesis Minerals is rising more than 3 percent, Newmont is advancing almost 3 percent and Resolute Mining is jumping almost 4 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.690 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday with investors digesting a slew of crucial economic data and some corporate news, including earnings update from Micron. The focus is also on reports about the ongoing U.S.-Iran peace efforts.

The Dow added 71.72 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 51,920.62, while the NASDAQ slumped 118.03 points or 0.46 percent to end at 25,358.60 and the S&P 500 dipped 0.73 points or 0.01 percent to close at 7,357.49.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. The UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.65 percent, Germany's DAX moved up 1.03 percent and France's CAC 40 ended 0.55 percent higher.

Crude oil prices jumped on Thursday as supply disruption threats reappeared after a projectile hit a cargo ship near Oman across the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $1.49 or 2.12 percent at $71.83 per barrel.