Australian Market Modestly Higher

Recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, the Australian stock market is modestly higher on Friday, following the lack of cues from Wall Street and positive cues from European markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying above the 7,000 mark, with gains in iron ore miners, energy and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 25.50 points or 0.36 percent to 7,054.70, after touching a high of 7,064.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 23.70 points or 0.33 percent to 7,257.90. Australian markets ended notably lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is edging up 0.5 percent, while Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals and Mineral Resources are gaining more than 1 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos and Woodside Energy are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is adding almost 3 percent and Beach energy is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.1 percent and WiseTech Global is losing almost 4 percent, while Xero is gaining almost 1 percent, Appen is adding almost 3 percent and Zip is edging up 0.5 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is gaining almost 1 percent, while National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.3 percent, Evolution Mining is losing more than 1 percent and Gold Road Resources is down almost 1 percent, while Resolute Mining is gaining more than 1 percent and Newmont is adding almost 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.657 on Friday.

The Wall Street was closed on account of Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. The shares closed notably higher on Wednesday.

The major European markets moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.19%, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.23% and 0.24%, respectively.

Crude oil prices extend losses from the previous session on Thursday on signs of increasing U.S. inventories and amid disappointment over postponement of the OPEC+ ministerial meeting. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January were down 1.5 percent at $75.97 a barrel.

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