Australian Market Modestly Higher

The Australian stock market is modestly higher in choppy trading on Wednesday after being in the red most of the morning session, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 just below the 7,300 level, following the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street, with energy stocks supporting the market, even as the domestic coronavirus situation remains a concern, particularly in New South Wales and Victoria.

NSW recorded 1,035 new local cases and five deaths on Tuesday. Victoria has recorded 628 new cases of COVID-19 and three deaths, with 6,223 total active cases across Victoria.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 20.90 points or 0.29 percent to 7,294.70, after hitting a low of 7,241.80 and a high of 2,296.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 21.30 points or 0.28 percent to 7,584.40. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources is down more than 1 percent and OZ Minerals is losing almost 1 percent, while Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are edging down 0.4 percent each. BHP Group is flat.

Oil stocks are higher. Woodside Petroleum is gaining more than 2 percent, Beach energy is rising almost 3 percent and Santos is adding almost 1 percent, while Oil Search and Origin Energy are up more than 1 percent each.

In the tech space, WiseTech Global is losing almost 1 percent and Appen is edging down 0.4 percent, while Xero is gaining almost 1 percent and Afterpay is edging up 0.2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Westpac and National Australia Bank are losing almost 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.4 percent. ANZ Banking is edging up 0.1 percent.

Westpac has terminated its talks with financial services firm Kina Securities over the sale of its major stake in Westpac PNG Ltd.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining, Newcrest Mining and Northern Star Resources are edging down 0.3 percent each, while Gold Road Resources is losing almost 2 percent and Resolute Mining is down almost 1 percent.

In other news, shares in Lumos are plunging more than 11 percent after the U.S. FDA stopped the review of the medical diagnostics firm’s rapid antigen COVID-19 test.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.725 on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Tuesday following the sell-off seen during trading on Monday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing narrowly mixed.

While the Nasdaq rose 32.50 points or 0.2 percent to 14,746.40, the Dow dipped 50.63 points or 0.2 percent to 33,919.84 and the S&P 500 edged down 3.54 points or 0.1 percent to 4,354.19. The Dow ended the session at its lowest closing level in three months.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index surged up by 1.4 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices moved higher Tuesday, ahead of weekly U.S. crude inventories data. But gains were just modest as traders weighed global energy demand prospects amid the surge in coronavirus cases in the U.S. and several other countries. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October settled at $70.56 a barrel on the expiration day, gaining $0.27 or 0.4 percent in the session.

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