Australian Market Trims Early Gains In Mid-market

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trimming its early gains in mid-market trading on Tuesday, extending the sharp gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving well above the 8,900 level, with gains is mining, energy and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 14.30 points or 0.16 percent to 8,884.40, after touching a high of 8,925.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 21.30 points or 0.23 percent to 9,152.40. Australian stocks closed sharply higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Fortescue is flat. Oil stocks are mostly higher Santos is gaining almost 1 percent, Woodside Energy is adding more than 1 percent and Beach energy is advancing almost 3 percent, while Origin Energy is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 1 percent. Xero is up more than 1 percent and WiseTech Global is edging up 0.1 percent, while Zip and Appen are surging more than 5 percent each.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining is edging up 0.1 percent, Genesis Minerals is adding more than 2 percent, while Northern Star resources and Newmont are gaining almost 2 percent each. Resolute Mining is losing almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is down more than 1 percent, ANZ Banking is losing almost 1 percent, National Australia Bank is edging down 0.3 percent and Westpac is declining almost 2 percent.

In other news, shares in G8 Education are tumbling more than 17 percent after flagging a $350 million non-cash goodwill impairment, scraping final dividend and pausing share buyback amid weaker occupancy and rising costs.

Shares in Treasury Wine Estates are jumping more than 6 percent after it settling a long running dispute in the US with its Californian distributor.

In economic news, Australia's NAB Business Confidence Index inched up to 3 in January from a downwardly revised 2 in the prior month, the highest reading since October. Meanwhile, business conditions weakened, due to declines in both sales and profits, while employment held steady for the third straight month

Private house approvals in Australia increased 0.4 percent month-on-month to 9,487 units in December 2025, easing from 0.8 percent gain in the previous month and in line with preliminary estimates. This marked a second straight monthly increase, albeit at a slower pace. On an annual basis, private house approvals rose 5.7 percent, extending their upward trend but slowing from November's 3.0 percent gain.

The seasonally adjusted number of total dwellings approved in Australia tumbled 14.9 percent on month to a four-month low of 15,542 units in December 2025, reversing a 13.1 percent surge in the previous month and matching flash data. On an annual basis, dwelling approvals rose 0.4 percent, slowing sharply from 19.4 percent surge in November.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.709 on Tuesday.