Australian Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market sharply higher on Tuesday, recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 6,600 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with strong gains across most sectors, led by mining and energy stocks amid a spike in commodity prices and a fall in bond yields. Traders also indulged in some bargain hunting.

The Reserve Bank of Australia will 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 50 basis points, from 2.35 percent to 2.85 percent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 148.70 points or 2.30 percent to 6,605.60, after touching a high of 6,609.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 149.00 points or 2.24 percent to 6,805.40. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto and BHP Group are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Mineral Resources is adding more than 3 percent, OZ Minerals is up almost 3 percent and Fortescue Metals is advancing more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are higher. Origin Energy is gaining more than 3 percent and Beach energy is adding almost 2 percent, while Santos and Woodside Energy are advancing almost 3 percent each. Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and Zip are adding almost 2 percent each, while Appen and Xero are gaining almost 3 percent each. WiseTech Global is up more than 3 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Resolute Mining and Gold Road Resources are surging almost 6 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is gaining more than 6 percent, Evolution Mining is advancing 4.5 percent and Newcrest Mining is rising more than 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Westpac is adding almost 3 percent and ANZ Banking is advancing more than 3 percent.

In economic news, the total number of building permits issued in Australia jumped a seasonally adjusted 28.1 percent on month in August, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday - coming in at 17,497. That blew away expectations for an increase of 5.0 percent following the 17.2 percent decline in July. On a yearly basis, building permits tumbled 9.5 percent after plummeting 25.9 percent in the previous month.

Further, the total value of owner-occupied home loans in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 2.7 percent on month in August, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday, coming in at A$18.54 billion. That exceeded expectations for a contraction of 3.5 percent following the 7.0 percent drop in July. On a yearly basis, owner-occupied loans were down 15.1 percent, investment lending fell 6.4 percent and overall loans dropped 12.5 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.650 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks kept moving higher and higher on Monday after opening with a positive gap as buying gathered momentum and finally ended the session on a buoyant note. The surge was due largely to hectic bargain hunting after recent sharp losses.

The major averages all ended sharply higher. The Dow surged 765.38 points or 2.66 percent to settle at 29,490.89, recording its best single session gain in over seven months. The S&P 500 climbed 92.81 points or 2.59 percent to 3,678.43, while the Nasdaq advanced 239.82 points or 2.27 percent to 10,815.43.

The major European markets also closed higher as stocks saw some strong buying in the final hour. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.77 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.22 percent, Germany's DAX surged 0.79 percent and France's CAC 40 gained 0.55 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Monday amid speculation that OPEC will discuss cutting crude output at their upcoming meeting on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $4.14 or 5.2 percent at $83.63 a barrel.