Australian Market Notably Higher

The Australian stock market is notably higher on Thursday, recouping the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,200 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in mining and energy stocks amid firmer commodity prices. Technology stocks also were strong.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 29.00 points or 0.40 percent to 7,228.20, after touching a high of 7,258.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 31.10 points or 0.42 percent to 7,420.40. Australian stocks ended notably lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto are adding more than 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is advancing almost 3 percent and BHP Group is gaining almost 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is gaining more than 1 percent, while Origin Energy and Woodside Energy are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each. Beach energy is plunging more than 7 percent after it announced uncertainty about timing and capital expenditure at the Waitsia project.

In the tech space, WiseTech Global is gaining almost 1 percent, while Afterpay owner Block and Zip are adding almost 3 percent each. Appen is losing almost 1 percent. Xero is surging more than 6 percent despite reporting a full-year net loss as its revenues grew 28 percent driven by subscriber growth and improved average revenue per user.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is gaining more than 1 percent, while National Australia Bank, Westpac and ANZ Banking are adding almost 1 percent each.

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

In other news, shares in Nufarm are soaring almost 13 percent after the chemicals company reported a underlying net profit for the half year that increased 7 parisercent from last year.

Shares in Aristocrat Leisure are plunging almost 5 percent despite the gambling company reporting a half-year profit and lifted its dividend.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.666 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stock showed a substantial move back to the upside during trading on Wednesday after ending Tuesday’s session mostly lower. The Dow bounced off its lowest closing level in over a month, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached a nearly nine-month closing high.

The major averages moved roughly sideways in the final hour of trading, holding on to strong gains. The Dow jumped 408.63 points or 1.2 percent to 33,420.77, the Nasdaq spiked 157.51 points or 1.3 percent to 12,500.57 and the S&P 500 surged 48.87 points or 1.2 percent to 4,158.77.

Meanwhile, the major European markets finished the day mixed. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday on expectations of higher demand and optimism over U.S. debt ceiling negotiations. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June jumped $1.97 or 2.8 percent at $72.83 a barrel.

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