Australian Market Notably Higher

The Australian stock market is notably higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,100 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with gains across most sectors, led by mining and energy stocks amid a spike in commodity prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 30.70 points or 0.43 percent to 7,139.60, after touching a high of 7,158.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 30.10 points or 0.41 percent to 7,345.90. Australian stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto, BHP Group, Fortescue Metals and Mineral Resources are gaining more than 1 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy is gaining 2.5 percent, Santos is adding almost 2 percent and Beach energy is up more than 2 percent, while Origin Energy is edging down 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 3 percent, Appen is advancing more than 2 percent and Zip is adding almost 2 percent, while Xero is edging down 0.2 percent. WiseTech Global is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each.

Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining is gaining almost 1 percent and Resolute Mining is adding more than 1 percent, while Gold Road Resources and Northern Star Resources are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each. Evolution Mining is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.671 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Tuesday, adding to the modest gains posted in the previous session. The major averages all moved to the upside, further offsetting the pullback seen last week.

The major averages reached new highs for the session going into the close. The Dow jumped 317.02 points or 0.9 percent to 34,261.42, the Nasdaq rose 75.22 points or 0.6 percent to 13,760.70 and the S&P 500 climbed 29.73 points or 0.7 percent to 4,439.26.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index advanced by 0.8 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Tuesday, lifted by the Energy Information Administration’s forecast of a drop in oil production and the International Energy Agency’s forecast about increased demand from China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $1.84 or about 2.52% at $74.83 a barrel.

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