Australian stock market is significantly higher on Friday, extending the slight gains of the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,100 level near fresh post-pandemic highs, following the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street. The market is lifted by materials, financial and energy stocks on a surge in commodity prices.
Traders are also concerned as the country’s second-most populous state went into a 7-day lockdown from midnight as a cluster of COVID-19 cases grew in Victoria, which recorded four new local cases and 2 new cases acquired overseas of coronavirus in the past 24 hours. The department of health confirmed there are now 39 active cases in the state.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 79.60 points or 1.12 percent to 7,174.50, after touching a high of 7,183.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 75.40 points or 1.03 percent to 7,419.40. Australian markets ended slightly higher on Thursday.
The major miners are higher. BHP Group is adding more than 3 percent, while Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are rising more than 4 percent each. Fortescue Metals is gaining almost 2 percent and OZ Minerals is up more than 5 percent.
Oil stocks were higher after crude oil prices climbed overnight. Oil Search and Origin Energy are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Woodside Petroleum and Santos are up almost 2 percent each. Beach energy is adding almost 1 percent each.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay is edging down 0.4 percent, WiseTech Global is losing more than 1 percent and Xero is down almost 1 percent, while Appen is flat.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Westpac are gaining more than 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are adding almost 1 percent each.
Gold miners are lower after gold prices tumbled. Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is declining more than 1 percent and Gold Road Resources is down almost 2 percent, while Newcrest Mining and Resolute Mining are edging up 0.4 percent each.
In other news, shares in Betmakers are plunging more than 9 percent after it launched a $4 billion takeover offer for Tabcorp’s wagering and media business, including $1 billion in cash and $3 billion worth of shares.
Shares in Ingham’s are surging almost 8 percent after the poultry producer provided guidance for investors on its expected earnings and profit for the second half of the year, claiming that it can beat consensus estimates of analysts.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.774 on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved in opposite directions at the start of trading on Thursday and continued to experience choppy trading throughout the session. The Dow ended the day firmly positive, while the broader Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed near the unchanged line.
While the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 1.72 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 13,736.28, the Dow rose 141.59 points or 0.4 percent to 34,464.64 and the S&P 500 inched up 4.89 points or 0.1 percent to 4,200.88.
The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index dipped by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Thursday, extending the gains to a fifth straight session following a drop in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended up $0.64 or 1 percent at $66.85 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Australian Market Significantly Higher
2021-05-28 01:57:51
