Australian Market Modestly Higher

The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains of the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 just above the 7,300 level near all-time highs, despite the lack of cues overnight from Wall Street. Stronger commodity prices helped the big miners and energy stocks drive the market, but it gave away some of the gains on release of data that showed consumer confidence slipping for a second straight month in June.

Traders are also relieved after only one new locally acquired COVID-19 case was recorded, with the total tally of active cases also dropping to 83 in Victoria. The Victorian government is also set to ease lockdown restrictions as planned on Thursday.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 16.5 points or 0.23 percent to 7,309.10, after touching an all-time high of 7,334.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 20.00 points or 0.27 percent to 7,562.30. Australian stocks ended slightly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Fortescue Metals and OZ Minerals are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is adding almost 1 percent. Mineral Resources is up more than 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Oil Search and Beach energy are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Woodside Petroleum is down 0.5 percent and Santos is edging down 0.1 percent. Origin Energy is adding more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay is gaining more than 1 percent, while Appen is losing more than 1 percent and Xero is edging down 0.4 percent. WiseTech Global is edging up 0.4 percent.

Among the big four banks, Westpac and National Australia Bank are flat, while ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are edging up 0.4 percent each.

Gold miners are lower as gold prices edge down overnight. Evolution Mining is losing more than 1 percent, while Resolute Mining, Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining are edging down 0.3 percent each. Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.1 percent.

In other news, shares in Brickworks are surging more than 9 percent after the building materials firm said it expects record-high earnings from its property assets, with a significant revaluation profit of around $100 million expected from its share in its joint venture industrial property trust with Goodman Industrial Trust.

The African subsidiary of global mining services contractor Perenti has won a significant contract to run Sandfire’s copper mine in Ghanzi, Botswana. The contract is expected to be worth $648 million over seven years with a possible one year extension. The stock is up more than 4 percent.

In economic news, consumer confidence in Australia softened in June, the latest survey from Westpac Bank and the Melbourne Institute showed on Wednesday with an index score of 107.2. That’s down 5.2 percent from the May reading, which saw the index slip 4.8 percent to 113.1. The latest fall in June is almost certainly due to concerns around the two-week lockdown in Melbourne as the survey was conducted during the first week of the lockdown.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.774 on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks closed flat on Tuesday after turning in a lackluster performance as investors refrained from making significant moves, choosing to wait for the consumer inflation data, due later in the week.

Among the major averages, the Dow ended weak, settling at 34,599.82 with a loss of 30.42 points or 0.09 percent. The S&P 500, which hit a four-week high in early trades, closed at 4,227.26, up 0.74 points or 0.02%, while the Nasdaq closed higher by 43.19 points or 0.31 percent at 13,924.91.

Meanwhile, the major European markets closed mostly higher after a cautious session as investors digested the latest batch of economic data and looked ahead to U.S. inflation data. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.25 percent and France’s CAC 40 moved up 0.11 percent, while Germany’s DAX ended lower by 0.23 percent.

Crude oil futures spiked on Tuesday on hopes that demand will continue to rise following reports that the Pfizer and AstraZeneca Covid vaccines are effective against the Covid Delta variant. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended up by $0.82 or 1.2 percent at $70.05 a barrel, the highest settlement since October 2018.

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