Australian stock market is slightly higher after recouping early losses on Friday, extending the modest gains of the previous sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 above the 7,300 level near all-time highs, following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street as encouraging data from the U.S. quelled inflation fears. The weakness in financial stocks was offset by strength in gold miners and technology stocks.
Traders were also relieved after no new coronavirus cases were reported in the country’s second-most populous state of Victoria on a day when the Melbourne area came out of lockdown.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 5.30 points or 0.07 percent to 7,307.80, after touching a high of 7,310.60 and a low of 7,274.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 10.60 points or 0.14 percent to 7,569.40. Australian markets ended modestly higher on Thursday.
The major miners are mixed. BHP Group, Fortescue Metals and OZ Minerals are edging up 0.2 percent each, while Rio Tinto is edging down 0.5 percent. Mineral Resources is flat.
Among oil stocks, Oil Search, Woodside Petroleum and Origin Energy are edging down 0.5 percent each, while Santos and Beach energy are losing almost 1 percent each.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay and Xero are gaining more than 2 percent each, while WiseTech Global is adding almost 1 percent and Appen is up almost 4 percent.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are losing almost 1 percent each, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are down more than 1 percent each.
Gold miners are higher after gold prices spiked overnight. Evolution Mining is gaining more than 2 percent, while Resolute Mining, Northern Star Resources and Gold Road Resources are adding more than 3 percent each. Newcrest Mining is up more than 1 percent.
In other news, Victoria has extended its royal commission into casino giant Crown Resorts by 10 weeks and doubled its budget so evidence of potential wrongdoing can be investigated properly. It was originally due to report back on August 1, The stock is down 3 percent.
Shares in Avita are soaring almost 17 percent after the U.S. FDA gave the green light to the biotech’s flagship Recell skin system for more severe burns and for paediatric patients.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.775 on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Thursday but largely maintained a positive bias on the day before closing mostly higher. With the upward move, the S&P 500 reached a new record closing high.
The major averages all closed in positive territory, although the Dow inched up just 19.10 points or 0.1 percent to 34,466.24. The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 108.58 points or 0.8 percent to 14,020.33 and the S&P 500 rose 19.63 points or 0.5 percent to 4,239.18.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil futures moved higher on Thursday amid optimism energy demand will pick up gradually following an Energy Information Administration (EIA) report that showed a big drop in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended up by $0.33 or 0.5 percent at $70.29 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Australian Market Slightly Higher
2021-06-11 01:31:33
