Australian stock market is modestly higher after recouping early losses on Friday, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 just breaking above the 7,400 level near all-time highs, as strong gains in technology stocks offset weakness across most other sectors after crude oil and bullion prices tumbled on US dollar’s surge. The cues overnight from Wall Street were mixed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 42.80 points or 0.58 percent to 7,401.80, after touching a high of 7,402.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 49.90 points or 0.66 percent to 7,650.40. Australian markets ended modestly lower on Thursday.
Among major miners, BHP Group and OZ Minerals are losing more than 2 percent each, while Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are down almost 2 percent each. Mineral Resources is edging up 0.4 percent.
Oil stocks are lower after crude oil prices tumbled overnight. Oil Search and Woodside Petroleum are losing more than 2 percent each, while Santos is declining more than 3 percent, Beach energy is lower by almost 1 percent and Origin Energy is edging down 0.2 percent.
Tech stocks are mirroring their counterparts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Afterpay is soaring more than 7 percent, Xero are gaining more than 4 percent, WiseTech Global is adding more than 3 percent and Appen is up almost 3 percent.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank, Westpac and ANZ Banking are losing almost 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is down more than 1 percent.
Gold miners lower after gold prices dropped overnight. Evolution Mining is losing more than 1 percent, Resolute Mining is down almost 1 percent, Newcrest Mining is declining almost 4 percent, Northern Star Resources is lower by almost 2 percent and Gold Road Resources is edging down 0.4 percent.
In other news, shares in Bubs Australia skyrocketed more than 21 percent on news that its Aussie Bubs branded formulas will enter the lucrative US infant formula through the e-commerce platform of retail giant Walmart and Amazon.com.
Software firm Altium revised it guidance to now likely be at or slightly below the lower end of its previous outlook after a slow first half due to the impact of COVID. However, it added that Altium’s business returned with double-digit growth in the second half. The stock is up more than 3 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.755 on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday following the broad-based weakness seen in the previous session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a notable rebound, while the Dow extended a recent downward trend.
The major averages ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Nasdaq advanced 121.67 points or 0.9 percent to 14,161.35, the Dow slid 210.22 points or 0.6 percent to 33,823.45 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.84 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 4,221.86.
The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index inched up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices tumbled on Thursday, weighed down by a stronger dollar after Federal Reserve officials projected that interest rates might be hiked by 2023. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down by $1.11 or 1.5 percent at $71.04 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Australian Market Modestly Higher
2021-06-18 01:36:18
