Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is trading modestly higher on Thursday, reversing some of the sharp losses 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 in financial and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in gold miner and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 26.20 points or 0.29 percent to 8,927.40, after touching a high of 8,964.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 33.80 points or 0.37 percent to 9,150.90. Australian stocks ended sharply lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is edging up 0.4 percent, Mineral Resources is gaining more than 1 percent and Fortescue is adding almost 2 percent, while BHP Group is losing more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos is down more than 1 percent, while Beach energy and Woodside Energy are losing more than 2 percent each. Origin Energy is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is advancing more than 4 percent, Xero is gaining almost 3 percent and Appen is jumping more than 8 percent, while WiseTech Global and Zip are surging almost 5 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are gaining more than 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is edging up 0.3 percent and National Australia Bank is advancing almost 2 percent.

Among gold miners, Resolute Mining is down more than 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is declining more than 3 percent and Newmont is slipping almost 2 percent, while Genesis Minerals and Evolution Mining are losing almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.708 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday, partly offsetting the weakness seen in the previous session. The major averages all moved to the upside on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the charge.

The major averages ended the day off their highs of the session but still firmly positive. The Nasdaq jumped 290.79 points or 1.3 percent to 22,807.48, the S&P 500 advanced 52.87 points or 0.8 percent to 6,869.50 and the Dow climbed 238.14 points or 0.5 percent to 48,739.41.

The major European markets also moved back to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index jumped by 1.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both advanced by 0.8 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up $1.13 or 1.51 percent at $75.79 per barrel.