Australian Market Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is trading notably higher on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,700 level, with gains in gold miners and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 46.30 points or 0.53 percent to 8,718.10, after hitting a low of 8,608.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 42.70 points or 0.48 percent to 8,928.30. Australian stocks ended sharply higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto, Fortescue and Mineral Resources are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while BHP Group is edging up 0.4 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy and Santos are losing more than 3 percent each, while Woodside Energy is tumbling more than 5 percent and Origin Energy is down almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Zip are losing more than 1 percent each, while WiseTech Global and Xero are down almost 1 percent each. Appen is declining almost 3 percent.

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

Among gold miners, Resolute Mining is up more than 1 percent, Newmont is surging almost 5 percent, Evolution Mining is gaining almost 3 percent and Northern Star Resources is adding more than 3 percent, while Genesis Minerals is edging down 0.5 percent.

In other news, shares in KMD Brands are tanking more than 57 percent after the Rip Curl and Kathmandu owner resumed trading on Thursday, following the completion of the $6.8 million institutional component of its emergency capital raising. The retail component ill open next week and is expected to raise gross proceeds of $21.1 million.

Shares in KGL Resources are skyrocketing almost 43 percent after the copper and gold project developer said it secured a US$300 million funding package towards the construction of its Jervois project in the Northern Territory.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.692 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday, adding to the substantial gains posted in the previous session. The major averages all moved to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a standout gain.

The major averages gave back some ground in afternoon trading after a morning rally but remained firmly positive. The Nasdaq jumped 250.32 points or 1.2 percent to 21,840.95, the S&P 500 climbed 46.80 points or 0.7 percent to 6,575.32 and the Dow rose 224.23 points or 0.5 percent to 46,565.74.

The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index spiked by 2.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index surged by 2.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jump by 1.9 percent.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Wednesday after Trump's comments, even if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and U.S. goals are not completely met. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $1.68 or 1.66 percent at $99.70 per barrel.