Australian Market Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading notably higher on Wednesday, recouping most of the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving to a tad below the 8,000 mark, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors led by technology and mining stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 46.70 points or 0.59 percent to 7,999.90, after touching a high of 8,008.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 47.80 points or 0.59 percent to 8,224.40. Australian stocks ended notably lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, Fortescue Metals are gaining more than 2 percent, Rio Tinto is adding almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is edging up 0.4 percent, while BHP Group is edging down 0.2 percent

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos and Beach energy are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Woodside Energy is gaining almost 1 percent. Origin Energy is losing more than 3 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is edging up 0.2 percent, Appen is advancing more than 5 percent, while WiseTech Global and Xero are adding more than 1 percent each. Zip is losing 2.5 percent.

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

Among gold miners, Resolute Mining is gaining more than 1 percent, while Newmont and Evolution Mining are edging up 0.3 percent each. Gold Road Resources is declining almost 6 percent. Northern Star Resources is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.653 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stock indexes moved in more starkly opposite directions during trading on Tuesday after ending yesterday's choppy trading session narrowly mixed. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq moved sharply lower, the Dow ended the day firmly positive.

The Nasdaq tumbled 222.78 points or 1.3 percent to 17,147.41, ending the session at its lowest closing level in well over a month. The S&P 500 also fell 27.10 points or 0.5 percent to 5,436.44, while the narrower Dow climbed 203.40 points or 0.5 percent to 40,743.33.

The major European markets also turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index climbed by 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices fell Tuesday amid continued concerns about the outlook for demand, and ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement and weekly inventory data later today. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for September ended down $1.08 or 1.42 percent at $74.73 a barrel.