The Australian stock market is significantly higher on Thursday, recouping the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 just below the 7,500 level, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, led by strong gains in the energy sector as crude oil prices rose sharply, even as traders remain concerned about the worsening domestic coronavirus situation, particularly in New South Wales and Victoria, which is hindering economic activity.
NSW has reported 1,351 new local cases of COVID-19 and twelve deaths on Wednesday, with Melbourne and Sydney, two of the largest cities, and regional areas still under tougher restrictions and lockdowns. Victoria recorded 514 new locally acquired cases, with active cases now totalling 4,370 across the state.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 59.60 points or 0.80 percent to 7,476.60, after hitting a low of 7,487.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 56.70 points or 0.73 percent to 7,779.90. Australian markets ended modestly lower on Wednesday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are edging up 0.1 percent each, while BHP Group is gaining almost 2 percent and Mineral Resources is edging up 0.4 percent. OZ Minerals is edging down 0.3 percent.
Oil stocks are higher. Beach Energy is gaining almost 3 percent, Woodside Petroleum is adding more than 2 percent and Origin Energy is edging up 0.5 percent, while Oil Search and Santos are up more than 1 percent each.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.3 percent each.
In the tech space, Xero is gaining more than 1 percent, while Afterpay and WiseTech Global are declining more than 1 percent each. Appen is losing almost 3 percent.
Gold miners are lower. Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are down 1.5 percent each, while Resolute Mining is declining almost 2 percent, Newcrest Mining is edging down 0.5 percent and Gold Road Resources is losing almost 1 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.734 on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks initially showed a lack of direction during trading on Wednesday but climbed firmly into positive territory as the day progressed. With the advance on the day, the major averages largely offset the downturn seen in the previous session.
The major averages finished the session near their best levels of the day. The Dow climbed 236.82 points or 0.7 percent to 34,814.39, the Nasdaq advanced 123.77 points or 0.8 percent to 15,161.53 and the S&P 500 jumped 37.56 points or 0.9 percent to 4,480.70.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slumped 1 percent, the German DAX Index slid 0.7 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index dipped 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday, lifting the most active crude futures contracts to a nearly seven-week closing high after data showed a larger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up by $2.15 or 3.1 percent at $72.61 a barrel, the highest settlement since July 30.
Market Analysis
Australian Market Significantly Higher
2021-09-16 01:40:12
