Australian Market Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is slightly higher in choppy trading on Thursday after opening in the red, snapping a three-session losing streak, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying below the 9,000 level, with gains in mining and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 8.20 points or 0.09 percent to 8,986.60, after hitting a low of 8,970.30 and a high of 8,991.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 4.60 points or 0.05 percent to 9,164.90. Australian stocks ended significantly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is losing almost 2 percent, while Fortescue are gaining more than 2 percent, Mineral Resources is edging up 0.1 percent and Rio Tinto is adding more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is losing almost 3 percent and Santos is edging down 0.1 percent, while Origin Energy is edging up 0.5 percent. Beach energy is flat.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is surging more than 5 percent, Xero is edging up 0.2 percent and Zip is gaining more than 1 percent, while WiseTech Global is declining more than 1 percent. Appen is flat.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is advancing almost 2 percent and Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.4 percent, while Westpac and National Australia Bank are gaining more than 1 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Resolute Mining and Genesis Minerals are advancing more than 3 percent each. Newmont is adding more than 2 percent.

In other news, shares in Regis Healthcare are tumbling 31 percent after noted a 2.55% increase to the industry-wide government funding rate, with inflation and wage pressures running well ahead of this increase.

Shares in Corporate Travel Management are crashing 80 percent as trading resumed on the ASX after an extended year-long suspension since August 2025 after uncovering accounting issues that snowballed into a massive scandal.

In economic news, the services sector in Australia continued to expand in August, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Thursday with a Purchasing Managers Index score of 53.2. That's down from 53.6 in July, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the composite index eased to 52.7 in August from 53.2 in July.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.716 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday, regaining ground following the pullback seen over the past few sessions. The major averages all moved back to the upside, although buying interest appeared somewhat subdued.

The major averages all finished the day firmly in positive territory. The Dow climbed 295.07 points or 0.6 percent to 53,061.95, the Nasdaq rose 118.05 points or 0.5 percent to 26,217.82 and the S&P 500 increased 35.13 points or 0.5 percent to 7,666.60.

Meanwhile, the major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index fell by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both dipped by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices jumped on Wednesday after the U.S. commenced its second round of attacks against Iran to escalate hostilities. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.97 or 1.08 percent at $91.19 per barrel.