Australian Market Significantly Higher

(RTTNews) - Extending the slight gains in the previous session, the Australian stock market is trading significantly higher on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,500 level to all-time highs, with gains across most sectors led by iron ore miners and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 60.70 points or 0.72 percent to 8,508.60, after touching an all-time high of 8,514.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 60.50 points or 0.70 percent to 8,765.50. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is gaining more than 2 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing more than 3 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Origin Energy is losing almost 1 percent and Santos is edging down 0.2 percent, while Woodside Energy is gaining almost 1 percent and Beach energy is advancing almost 2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is surging more than 5 percent, while Appen and Xero are gaining almost 2 percent each. Zip is losing more than 2 percent and WiseTech Global is slipping 1.5 percent.

Gold miners are mixed. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 2 percent, Newmont is edging down 0.1 percent and Northern Star resources is declining almost 3 percent, while Resolute Mining is adding more than 1 percent and Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.5 percent, ANZ Banking is gaining more than 1 percent, Westpac is advancing more than 2 percent and National Australia Bank is adding more than 1 percent.

In economic news, Australia posted a seasonally adjusted current account deficit of A$14.149 billion in the third quarter of 2024, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. That missed forecasts for a shortfall of A$10.3 billion following the downwardly revised A$16.351 billion deficit in the three months prior (originally -A$10.7 billion). The capital and financial account surplus was A$20.084 billion, an increase of A$2.658 million on the Q2 surplus.

The balance on goods and services in seasonally adjusted chain volume terms is expected to contribute 0.1 percentage points to the September quarter 2024 GDP quarterly movement. That missed expectations for 0.4 percent and was down from 0.2 percent in the previous quarter.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.648 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks closed on a mixed note on Monday. Technology stocks had a good session although the broad market remained somewhat sluggish as investors looked ahead to upcoming economic data, including private and non-farm payroll reports, JOLTs, and readings on manufacturing activity, due during the course of this week.

Among the major averages, the Dow ended down 128.65 points or 0.29 percent at 44,782.00, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, both closed at record highs at 6,047.15 and 19,403.95, respectively. While the S&P 500 gained 14.77 points or 0.24 percent, the Nasdaq climbed 185.78 points or 0.97 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.31 percent, Germany's DAX jumped 1.57 percent and France's CAC 40 edged up 0.02 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Monday on possible supply disruptions due to rising tensions on the geopolitical front although the upside was marginal as investors look to Thursday's OPEC meeting. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended up by $0.10 or 0.15 percent at $68.10 a barrel.