Australian Market Trims Early Gains In Mid-market

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trimming its early gains in mid-market moves on Wednesday, but extending the gains in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying just above 8,400 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in energy and technology stocks and a mixed performance in mining and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 13.00 points or 0.16 percent to 8,420.60, after touching a high of 8,453.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 19.40 points or 0.23 percent to 8,650.90. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Fortescue metals is edging up 0.4 percent. Mineral Resources is tumbling almost 6 percent after again cutting its full-year guidance for iron ore production by as much as 10 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Beach energy are advancing almost 2 percent each, while Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent and Santos is adding more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is advancing more than 5 percent, while WiseTech Global, Appen, Zip and Xero are gaining almost 2 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.1 percent, while Westpac, ANZ Banking and National Australia bank are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent and Newmont is edging up 0.2 percent, while Northern Star Resources is losing more than 1 percent. Gold Road Resources and Resolute Mining are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each.

In other news, shares in Web Travel Group are soaring almost 14 percent after the travel company told investors it is "recalibrated and back on track" as total transaction values rose 22 percent in the full year to March.

In economic news, Australia's monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in slightly higher than expected at 2.4 percent year-on-year in April 2025, but unchanged from the previous two months and marking the lowest level since November 2024.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.644 on Wednesday.