Australian Market Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is slightly higher on Monday after opening in the red, extending some of the gains in the previous two sessions, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is staying just below the 8,300.00 level, with gains in mining and energy stocks nearly offset by weakness in some technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 2.30 points or 0.03 percent to 8,287.50, after hitting a low of 8,244.30 and a high of 8,292.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 3.00 points or 0.04 percent to 8,542.00. Australian stocks closed significantly higher on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 1 percent, Rio Tinto is adding almost 2 percent, Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.2 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing almost 4 percent. Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy, Origin Energy and Santos are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Woodside Energy is edging up 0.5 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining 1.5 percent and WiseTech Global is adding almost 1 percent, while Appen is declining more than 5 percent, Xero is down almost 1 percent and Zip is losing 2.5 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining is gaining more than 3 percent and Newmont is up almost 1 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Gold Road Resources are adding more than 2 percent each.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are losing almost 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is down more than 1 percent. Westpac is flat.

In other news, shares in Australian uranium miners Paladin Energy and Boss Energy are surging almost 7 percent after Russia announced a ban on uranium exports to the US. Silex Systems is soaring more than 11 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.647 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a more substantial move to the downside during trading on Friday after coming under pressure late in Thursday's session. The major averages all moved sharply lower on the day, pulling back well off Monday's record closing highs.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels in late-day trading but remained firmly negative. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way lower, plunging 427.53 points or 2.2 percent to 18,680.12. The S&P 500 also tumbled 78.55 points or 1.3 percent to 5,870.62, while the narrower Dow slid 305.87 points or 0.7 percent to 43,444.99.

The major European markets all also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index fell by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices plummeted Friday on concerns about the outlook for demand, recent data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories and a stronger dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December sank $1.68 or 2.45 percent at $67.02 a barrel; they shed 5 percent in the week.