Australian Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 8,950 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, 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 242.80 points or 2.78 percent to 8,971.60, after touching a high of 8,986.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 247.00 points or 2.77 percent to 9,168.20. Australian stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is advancing more than 4 percent, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 3 percent, Mineral Resources is surging almost 7 percent and Fortescue is adding more than 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy is losing more than 3 percent and Woodside Energy is plunging more than 10 percent, while Santos and Beach energy are tumbling more than 7 percent each.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 2 percent, Zip is soaring almost 11 percent, Appen is advancing almost 5 percent, Xero are adding almost 4 percent and WiseTech Global is surging more than 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are gaining more than 3 percent each, while Westpac and National Australia bank are advancing almost 4 percent each. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Genesis Minerals are jumping more than 7 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is surging more than 5 percent, Newmont is gaining more than 4 percent and Resolute Mining is advancing almost 6 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.706 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks regained ground over the course of the trading day on Tuesday after coming under pressure early in the session. The major averages climbed well off their lows of the session before eventually closing narrowly mixed.

The Nasdaq inched up 21.51 points or 0.1 percent to 22,017.85 and the S&P 500 crept up 5.02 points or 0.1 percent to 6,616.85, while the narrower Dow dipped 85.42 points or 0.2 percent to 46,584.46. Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped 1.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.8 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices have inched higher on Tuesday as Iran remains unresponsive to U.S. threats to open up the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $0.65 or 0.58 percent at $113.06 per barrel.