The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Friday, recouping the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,000 mark, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, as picked up stocks at a bargain after the recent sell-off amid the continued escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Technology stocks bounced back with strong gains.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 19.50 points or 0.28 percent to 7,010.10, after touching a high of 7,045.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 31.20 points or 0.43 percent to 7,284.30. Australian markets ended sharply lower on Thursday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto is edging down 0.3 percent and BHP Group is losing almost 1 percent, while Mineral Resources is adding more than 3 percent and Fortescue Metals is gaining 1.5 percent. OZ Minerals is flat.
Oil stocks are mixed. Beach energy and Woodside Petroleum are losing almost 2 percent each, while Santos is down almost 1 percent. Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent.
Among tech stocks, Appen is soaring more than 9 percent, Xero is gaining more than 2 percent, WiseTech Global is surging almost 6 percent, Zip is adding more than 5 percent and Afterpay owner Block is skyrocketing 34 percent after its results topped expectations on strong Bitcoin trading offsetting slower growth from its digital commerce business.
Among the big four banks, Westpac, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are losing almost 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.3 percent.
Gold miners are lower. Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are losing more than 4 percent each, while Resolute Mining is sliding more than 9 percent, Gold Road Resources is slipping almost 5 percent and Newcrest Mining is down almost 2 percent.
In other news, shares Lynas Rare Earths are adding more than 4 percent after it posted a record first-half profit, helped by a surge in demand for the minerals used in electric vehicles amid a global push for reducing carbon emissions. The company did not declare an interim dividend.
Shares of Adbri jumped almost 11 percent after the construction materials group reported that full-year net profit jumped 25 percent and revenue rose 8 percent. The company also declared a final dividend
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.716 on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks staged a stunning turnaround over the course of the trading session on Thursday after moving sharply lower at the start of trading. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a particularly strong rebound after hitting its lowest intraday level in almost a year.
The Nasdaq spiked 436.10 points or 3.3 percent to 13,473.59 after tumbling by as much as 3.4 percent in early trading. The Dow also rose 92.07 points or 0.3 percent to 33,223.83 after plunging by nearly 860 points, while the S&P 500 jumped 63.20 points or 1.5 percent at 4,288.70.
Meanwhile, the major European markets showed substantial moves to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index has plummeted by 4 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index dove by 3.9 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices settled moderately higher on Thursday, with traders weighing the possible impact on global supplies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended up by $0.71 or about 0.8% at $92.81 a barrel, climbing down from a high of $100.54 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Australian Market Modestly Higher
2022-02-25 01:38:24
