Australian Market Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market slightly higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous six sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,200 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, boosted by gains in gold mining stocks amid the continuing strength in gold prices. Energy and financial stocks are also higher.

Traders are also treading cautiously ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate decision later in the day. The RBA is expected to lift interest rates for the eleventh straight month.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 7.30 points or 0.10 percent to 7,230.30, after touching a high of 7,233.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 9.40 points or 0.13 percent to 7,425.80. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Mineral Resources are losing almost 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is edging up 0.1 percent. and Fortescue Metals is also edging up 0.5 percent. OZ Minerals is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy and Santos are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Woodside Energy is edging up 0.3 percent. Origin Energy is edging down 0.2 percent. Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 2 percent and Appen is edging down 0.4 percent, while WiseTech Global and Xero are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each. Zip is flat.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star Resources and Resolute Mining are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Newcrest Mining is adding 1.5 percent, Evolution Mining is advancing 3.5 percent and Gold Road Resources is up more than 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while ANZ Banking is gaining almost 1 percent.

In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The RBA is widely expected to hike its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, from 3.60 percent to 3.85 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.679 on Tuesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks ended higher on Monday with those from the energy sector rallying sharply after a surprise production cut announcement by the OPEC+ lifted crude oil prices.

Among the major averages, the Dow ended notably higher after staying firm right through the day's session. The S&P finished modestly higher after a choppy ride, while the Nasdaq trimmed its losses and settled well off the day's lows.

The Dow settled with a gain of 327.00 points or 0.98 percent at 33,601.15. The S&P 500 ended up 15.20 points or 0.37 percent at 4,124.51, while the Nasdaq ended lower by 32.45 points or 0.27 percent at 12,189.45.

Meanwhile, the major European markets also turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index drifted down 0.31 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.54 percent, and France's CAC 40 gained 0.32 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Monday, buoyed by the decision of OPEC+ oil producers to cut output by around 1.16 million barrels per day. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $4.75 or 6.3 percent at $80.42 a barrel.