Australian Market Notably Higher

The Australian stock market is notably higher on Thursday, extending the gains of the previous sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 above the 7,200 level at fresh all-time highs, following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street, faster than expected local GDP growth and improved oil prices. Traders are wary of making significant moves ahead of the release of the U.S. Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Meanwhile, traders are also concerned about the rising COVID-19 infection cases in the country’s second-most populous state of Victoria, with the lockdown extended by a week across Melbourne to contain the infection rate. The outbreak in Victoria has reached a count of 69 active cases, with three new locally acquired cases.

The Australian Treasury is also mulling disaster payment to Victorians impacted by the lockdown, similar to Commonwealth cash distributed after fires and floods.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 61.60 points or 0.85 percent to 7,279.40, after touching an all-time high to 7,334.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 58.10 points or 0.78 percent to 7,527.00. Australian markets ended notably higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Fortescue Metals and OZ Minerals are flat, while Rio Tinto is edging down 0.4 percent. Mineral Resources is adding almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are higher after crude oil prices climbed overnight. Oil Search, Woodside Petroleum, Beach Energy and Santos are all gaining almost 3 percent each, while Origin Energy is adding more than 4 percent.

Among Tech stocks, Appen and Xero are gaining almost 1 percent each, while WiseTech Global and Afterpay are edging up 0.4 percent each.

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

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Newcrest Mining are edging down 0.2 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is edging up 0.5 percent. Gold Road Resources and Resolute Mining are losing almost 2 percent each.

In other news, shares in Sezzle are soaring more than 14 percent after it signed a three-year agreement with retail giant Target to provide buy now, pay later (BNPL) services in store and online, saying it would give Target customers access to interest-free payment plans.

In economic news, the services sector in Australia continued to expand in May, albeit at a slightly slower pace, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed on Thursday, with a services PMI score of 58.0. That’s down from 58.8 in April, although it remains well above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Also, the composite index fell to 58.0 in May from 58.9 in April.

The latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed on Thursday that the construction sector in Australia continued to expand in May, albeit at a slightly slower pace, with a seasonally adjusted Performance of Construction Index score of 58.3. That’s down from 59.1 in April, although it remains well above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.775 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved to the upside in early trading on Wednesday, largely mirroring the performance seen in the previous session, but showed a lack of direction for much of the rest of the day. The major averages once again finished the day near the unchanged line.

A late move to the upside helped the major averages close modestly higher. The Dow inched up 25.07 points or 0.1 percent to 34,600.38, the Nasdaq edged up 19.85 points or 0.1 percent to 13,756.33 and the S&P 500 crept up 6.08 points or 0.1 percent to 4,208.12.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index edged up by 0.2 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session, amid rising hopes about a pickup in energy demand and on the decision by OPEC to gradually increase crude production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended up $1.11 or 1.6 percent at $68.83 a barrel, the highest since October 2018.

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