Australian Market Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading slightly higher on Wednesday, extending the slight gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 8,800 level, with gains across most sectors led by mining and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 11.50 points or 0.13 percent to 8,804.80, after touching a high of 8,819.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 12.10 points or 0.14 percent to 8,989.00. Australian stocks ended slightly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is advancing more than 3 percent, Fortescue is gaining more than 2 percent, Mineral Resources is up more than 1 percent and Rio Tinto is adding almost 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy is up almost 1 percent, Origin Energy is edging up 0.1 percent, Santos is gaining more than 1 percent and Beach energy is adding almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is edging up 0.3 percent, Appen is gaining more than 1 percent and Zip is advancing almost 2 percent, while WiseTech Global is slipping more than 1 percent and Xero is losing almost 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, Westpac, National Australia bank, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is advancing almost 4 percent, Genesis Minerals is rising almost 3 percent and Newmont is is adding almost 2 percent, while Resolute Mining and Northern Star Resources are gaining more than 2 percent each.

In other news, shares in Lynas Rare Earths are plunging almost 8 percent after production of NdPr fell for the quarter as the company worked through issues with its expanded Mount Weld processing plant.

Shares in SkyCity Entertainment are surging more than 8 per cent after it agreed to sell Auckland's Grand Hotel to an overseas buyer, with proceeds to be used to repay debt and strengthen the casino operator's balance sheet.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.701 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Tuesday after trending lower over the past few sessions. The major averages all moved notably higher, with the Nasdaq leading the charge.

The major averages finished the day off their highs of the session but still firmly positive. The Nasdaq jumped 329.13 points or 1.3 percent to 25,837.21, the S&P 500 advanced 65.92 points or 0.9 percent to 7,509.20 and the Dow climbed 385.38 points or 0.7 percent to 52,224.64. The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices spiked on Tuesday as the U.S. attacked Iran for the 10th straight day, reinforcing supply concerns due to the Strait of Hormuz crisis. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $1.77 or 2.13 percent at $85.00 per barrel.