Australian Market Slightly Higher

The Australian market is trading slightly higher on Thursday, recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving a tad above the 8,200 level, as traders remain cautious amid the escalating tensions in the Middle East following Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 9.70 points or 0.12 percent to 8,207.90, after touching a high of 8,221.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 9.10 points or 0.11 percent to 8,479.00. Australian stocks ended slightly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while BHP Group is gaining more than 1 percent. Mineral Resources is edging down 0.2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy, Santos and Origin Energy are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Beach energy is flat.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Appen are losing more than 1 percent each, while Xero and Zip are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each. WiseTech Global is down almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Westpac is losing more than 1 percent and ANZ Banking is edging down 0.2 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is edging down 0.3 percent, Resolute Mining is losing more than 1 percent and Northern Star Resources is down almost 1 percent, while Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.1 percent and Newmont is gaining almost 1 percent.

In economic news, the services sector in Australia continued to expand in September, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Thursday with a services PMI score of 50.5. That’s down from 52.5 in August, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the composite index slipped into contraction with a PMI score of 49.6 in September, down from 51.7 in August.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.688 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Wednesday after recovering from an early move to the downside. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing slightly higher.

The Dow edged up 39.55 points or 0.1 percent to 42,196.52, the Nasdaq inched up 14.76 points or 0.1 percent to 17,925.12 and the S&P 500 crept up 0.79 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,709.54.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the German DAX Index fell by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices settled modestly higher on Wednesday as traders bet on a likely drop in supplies due the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for November ended up $0.27 or 0.39 percent at $70.10 a barrel.

Market Analysis