Australian Markets Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Monday, reversing some of the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is moving well above the 8,700.00 level, with weakness in energy and mining stocks partially offset by gains in financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 16.80 points or 0.19 percent to 8,681.80, after touching a high of 8,686.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 13.30 points or 0.15 percent to 8,858.90. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Fortescue is edging down 0.1 percent and Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent, while Mineral Resources and BHP Group are edging up 0.1 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is losing almost 1 percent and Beach energy is declining almost 2 percent, while Origin Energy and Santos is edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.3 percent, while Appen is gaining more than 1 percent, WiseTech Global is advancing almost 2 percent, Zip is edging up 0.3 percent and Xero is almost 1 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Resolute Mining is down more than 1 percent, Genesis Minerals is losing more than 1 percent and Newmont is edging down 0.2 percent, while Evolution Mining is edging up 0.2 percent. Northern Star Resources is soaring more than 9 percent after rejecting a takeover offer from South African miner Gold Fields.

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

In other news, shares in Karoon Energy are tumbling more than 12 percent after lowering full-year 2026 production guidance following operational setbacks.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.702 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated early in the session on Friday but moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day. The major averages all finished the day in positive territory after ending the previous session roughly flat.

The Dow advanced 478.64 points or 0.9 percent to 51,828.62, bouncing off its lowest closing level in over three months. The Nasdaq climbed 129.34 points or 0.5 percent to 27,068.72 and the S&P 500 rose 39.28 points or 0.5 percent to 7,743.41.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. The German DAX Index climbed by 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, although the French CAC 40 Index bucked the uptrend and closed just below the unchanged line.

Crude oil prices retreated from recent highs on Friday following reports that Iran has submitted a proposal to the United States to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days.