Australian Market Swings To Notable Gains In Mid-market

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is swinging to notable gains in mid-market moves on Wednesday after opening in the red, extending the gains in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 8,950 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors led by in gold miners and technology stocks. Energy stocks are the only weak spot amid tumbling crude oil prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 47.20 points or 0.53 percent to 8,964.90, after hitting a low of 8,888.10 and a high of 8,976.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 50.90 points or 0.56 percent to 9,182.20. Australian stocks ended slightly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is adding almost 1 percent, Fortescue is gaining more than 1 percent, Mineral Resources is advancing almost 3 percent and Rio Tinto is edging up 0.4 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is declining almost 4 percent, Beach energy is slipping almost 3 percent, Santos is losing almost 2 percent and Origin Energy is down more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Appen are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Zip is adding almost 2 percent, Xero is up more than 1 percent and WiseTech Global is advancing almost 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia bank, Westpac and ANZ Banking are adding almost 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are gaining more than 3 percent each, while Newmont is adding more than 2 percent, Resolute Mining is jumping more than 6 percent and Genesis Minerals is surging almost 5 percent.

In other news, shares in ARN Media are skyrocketing more than 21 percent after it reached a settlement on all legal proceedings with former star broadcaster Kyle Sandilands, agreeing to pay $12.09 million in cash and provide $1.5 million in advertising to end his association with the company.

Shares in Symal Group are jumping more than 9 percent after it agreed to acquire 100 per cent of Queensland-based Shamrock Civil in a $51 million upfront deal.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.707 on Wednesday.