Australian Market Slightly Higher

The Australian stock market is slightly higher on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying a tad below the 7,300 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in financial stocks partially offset by losses in mining and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 1.50 points or 0.02 percent to 7,299.20, after touching a high of 7,310.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 5.30 points or 0.07 percent to 7,512.10. Australian stocks ended sharply higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are losing almost 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are edging down 0.2 to 0.3 percent each.

Oil stocks are mixed. Santos is edging down 0.1 percent and Woodside Energy is losing almost 4 percent, while Beach energy is edging up 0.3 percent and Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Zip is losing more than 4 percent. Xero is edging up 0.5 percent and Appen is gaining more than 4 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.3 percent and National Australia Bank is gaining more than 1 percent, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are adding almost 1 percent each.

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

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.649 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved moderately higher during trading on Wednesday extending the upward trend seen in recent sessions.

The major averages all moved to the upside, closing higher for the fourth consecutive session. The Nasdaq climbed 75.55 points or 0.5 percent to 14,019.31, the S&P 500 rose 17.24 points or 0.4 percent to 4,514.87 and the Dow inched up 37.57 points or 0.1 percent to 34,890.24.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index inched up 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down 0.1 and the German DAX Index dipped 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Wednesday after data showed a big drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. The dollar’s continued weakness and the impact of Hurricane Idalia on oil fields along Florida’s Gulf Coast also supported prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October rose $0.47 or 0.6 percent at $81.63 a barrel.

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