Australian Market Notably Higher

The Australian stock market is notably higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving to a tad below the 7,200 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with gains across most sectors, led by mining and energy stocks amid firmer commodity prices.

Traders also look ahead to an upcoming speech by incoming Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock later in the day for clues on the outlook for domestic interest rates and the broader economy.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 34.50 points or 0.48 percent to 7,194.30, after touching a high of 7,196.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 32.80 points or 0.45 percent to 7,398.70. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is adding almost 1 percent, while Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are gaining more than 1 percent each. Mineral Resources is surging more than 6 percent after it reported a 40 percent jump in full-year revenues.

Oil stocks are higher. Beach energy, Santos, Origin Energy and Woodside Energy are all edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.1 percent and WiseTech Global is losing almost 1 percent, while Appen is advancing almost 3 percent and Xero is edging up 0.3 percent. Zip is surging almost 7 percent after reporting a full-year loss that halved from last year.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star resources is edging up 0.4 percent, Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent, Gold Road Resources is advancing almost 3 percent and Newcrest Mining is up more than 1 percent. Resolute Mining is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are gaining almost 1 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.643 on Tuesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks settled firmly in positive territory on Monday despite seeing some wild swings during the course of the day’s session.

The major averages all closed notably higher. The Dow settled with a gain of 213.18 points or 0.62 percent at 3,560.08. The S&P 500 ended up 27.57 points or 0.63 percent at 4,433.28, while the Nasdaq climbed 114.48 points or 0.84 percent at 13,705.13.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. The Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 ended higher by 1.03 percent, and 1.32 percent, respectively. The U.K. market remained closed for Late Summer Bank Holiday.

Crude oil prices edged higher on Monday on optimism that energy operations in the Gulf Coast of Florida may be affected by severe weather conditions this week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended higher by $0.27 or 0.3 percent at $80.10 a barrel.

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