Australian Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading sharply higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,950 level, with gains across most sectors led by mining and energy stocks amid higher commodity prices, particularly the bullion.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 103.20 points or 1.17 percent to 8,963.30, after touching a high of 8,969.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 97.40 points or 1.06 percent to 9,287.30. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Friday ahead of the holiday on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 3 percent and Fortescue is up almost 1 percent, while Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are adding more than 2 percent each. Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is advancing more than 3 percent and Woodside Energy is adding almost 2 percent, while Beach energy and Origin Energy are gaining more than 1 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging up 0.4 percent and WiseTech Global are adding almost 2 percent, while Zip is losing more than 2 percent and Appen is declining almost 4 percent. Xero is flat.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star resources and Newmont are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is advancing more than 3 percent. Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent. Genesis Minerals is flat.

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

In other news, Shares in Michael Hill International are jumping more than 12 percent after the jewellery retailer said it expects first-half earnings to be 12% to 24% higher than last year.

Shares in AUB group were in a trading halt after the insurer launched a A$400 million institutional placement to finance a UK acquisition.

Shares in Cyclopharm are surging almost 14 percent after the health technology group's lung imaging technology received a major endorsement from top medical professionals in the U.S.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.691 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Monday following the mixed performance seen during last Friday's session. With the upward move, the major averages further offset the steep drop seen last Tuesday.

The major averages moved to the downside going into the end of the day but remained in positive territory. The Dow advanced 313.69 points or 0.6 percent to 49,412.40, the Nasdaq rose 100.11 points or 0.4 percent to 23,601.36 and the S&P 500 climbed 34.62 points or 0.5 percent to 6,950.23.

Meanwhile, the major European markets also ended the day narrowly mixed. While the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both crept up by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices slid on Monday following the resumption of production in Kazakhstan, although geopolitical tensions in the Middle East limited the decline. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down by $0.42 or 0.69 percent at $60.65 per barrel.