Australian Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading sharply higher on Tuesday, snapping a four-session losing streak, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving well above the 8,850 level, with gains across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks. Energy stocks were the only weak spot.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 113.30 points or 1.29 percent to 8,891.90, after touching a high of 8,896.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 113.90 points or 1.26 percent to 9,182.70. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 2 percent, Mineral Resources is edging up 0.5 percent, Rio Tinto is adding almost 3 percent and Fortescue is up almost 1 percent. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy is edging down 0.4 percent, while Santos and Woodside Energy are losing almost 1 percent each. Beach energy is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is advancing almost 2 percent, Zip is gaining 1.5 percent, Xero is up more than 2 percent, WiseTech Global is adding almost 1 percent and Appen is surging more than 11 percent after the recent release of upbeat December quarter results driven by the expansion of generative AI-related projects.

Gold miners are higher. Evolution Mining is advancing more than 5 percent, Northern Star resources is adding more than 3 percent, Resolute Mining is rising more than 4 percent,Genesis Minerals is gaining almost 4 percent and Newmont is surging almost 6 percent.

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

In economic news, the total number of building permits issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 14.9 percent on month in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday - coming in at 15,542. That missed expectations for a decline of 6.4 percent following the 15.2 percent jump in November. On a yearly basis, permits climbed 13.3 percent, easing from 20.2 percent in the previous month.

The Reserve Bank of Australia will also wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The RBA is expected to hike its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, to 2.85 percent from 3.60 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.696 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Monday following the mixed performance seen last week. The major averages all moved to the upside on the day, with the Dow posting a standout gain.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels late in the day but remained in positive territory. The Dow jumped 515.19 points or 1.1 percent to 49,407.66, the Nasdaq climbed 130.29 points or 0.6 percent to 23,592.11 and the S&P 500 rose 37.41 points or 0.5 percent to 6,976.44.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index shot up by 1.2 percent, the German DAX Index jumped by 1.0 percent and the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Monday as signs of de-escalation of the U.S.-Iran conflict reduced supply-output concerns in the Middle East, taking off the geopolitical risk premium. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down $3.28 or 5.03 percent at $61.93 per barrel.