Australian Market Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is slightly higher on Wednesday after being in the red most of the morning session, recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 6,600 level, despite the negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as gains in gold miners and technology stocks were almost offset by weakness in materials and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 5.40 points or 0.08 percent to 6,611.70, after hitting a low of 6,584.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 10.70 points or 0.16 percent to 6,797.50. Australian stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto and OZ Minerals are losing more than 1 percent each, while BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are down almost 2 percent each. Mineral Resources is slipping more than 2 percent.

Oil stocks are lower. Beach energy and Woodside Energy are losing almost 3 percent each, while Origin Energy is down more than 1 percent and Santos is declining more than 2 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 4 percent and Appen is adding 2.5 percent, while WiseTech Global and Xero are advancing more than 1 percent each. Zip is losing almost 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are edging up 0.2 percent each, while ANZ Banking is edging down 0.5 percent. Westpac is flat.

Among gold miners, Gold Road Resources is gaining almost 3 percent, Resolute Mining is adding almost 1 percent and Northern Star Resources is edging up 0.3 percent, while Newcrest Mining is slipping almost 1 percent. Evolution Mining is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.676 on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction for much of the session on Tuesday before coming under considerable pressure in late-day trading. With the downward move on the day, the major averages added to the notable losses posted on Monday.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained firmly negative. The Dow fell 192.51 points or 0.6 percent to 30,981.33, the Nasdaq slumped 107.87 points or 1 percent to 11,264.73 and the S&P 500 slid 35.63 points or 0.9 percent to 3,818.80.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned positive over the course of the session. While the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the German DAX Index climbed by 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Tuesday on concerns about the outlook for global demand due to recession fears and a renewed spike in Covid-19 cases. West Texas Intermediate for August delivery shed $8.25 or 7.9 percent to $95.84 a barrel, closing below $100 a barrel for the first time in two months.