Australian stock market is rising on Friday, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 just below the 6,800 level, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street as a report that showed U.S. initial jobless claims decreased more than expected and the easing bond yields stoked hopes about the economic recovery.
The market is driven by gains in technology shares and the heavyweight materials sector. The market is also heading towards posting its second weekly gain.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 64.90 points or 0.97 percent to 6,778.80, after touching a low of 6,783.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is higher by 70.20 points or 1.01 percent to 7,023.10. Australian stocks hit a five-week low before ending a choppy session on a flat note.
The major miners are strong. Fortescue Metals and BHP Group are higher by more than 2 percent each, while Rio Tinto is adding more than 1 percent.
Oil stocks are higher after crude oil prices surged overnight. Woodside Petroleum and Oil Search are adding more than 2 percent each, while Santos is gaining almost 3 percent.
Among the big four banks, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are higher by 0.5 percent each, while ANZ Banking is adding more than 1 percent.
Tech stocks are also higher. Afterpay is gaining almost 4 percent, WiseTech Global is adding almost 2 percent, and Appen is up more than 2 percent.
Gold miners are mixed after gold turned in a lackluster performance to close higher. Evolution Mining is sliding almost 2 percent and Northern Star Resources is losing more than 2 percent, while Newcrest Mining is edging up 0.4 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.779 on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching new record closing highs. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a particularly strong upward move after ending the previous session slightly lower.
The Nasdaq soared 329.84 points or 2.5 percent to 13,398.67 and the S&P 500 jumped 40.53 points 1 percent to 3,939.34. The Dow pulled back well off its best levels of the day but still closed up 188.57 points or 0.6 percent to 32,485.59.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index both rose by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil futures moved sharply higher on Thursday, extending the rebound seen in the previous session amid optimism about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate jumped $1.58 or 2.45 percent to $66.02 per barrel.
Market Analysis
Australian Market Rises
2021-03-12 00:22:48
