Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - Recouping some of the sharp losses in the previous two sessions, the Australian stock market is trading modestly higher on Tuesday, despite the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying well below the 7,600 level, with gains in some iron ore miners and technology stocks as traders cautiously await the Reserve Bank of Australia's July monetary policy decisions.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 20.70 points or 0.27 percent to 7,670.30, after touching a high of 7,673.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 23.50 points or 0.30 percent to 7,882.90. Australian stocks closed sharply lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group, Fortescue Metals. Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is declining almost 3 percent and Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent, while Santos is edging up 0.4 percent. Origin Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Appen is gaining more than 3 percent, Zip is adding almost 3 percent and Afterpay owner Block is edging up 0.1 percent, while WiseTech Global is edging down 0.2 percent. Xero is flat. Gold miners are mostly lower. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 3 percent, Northern Star resources is down almost 2 percent, Evolution Mining is declining more than 2 percent and Newmont is slipping almost 4 percent, while Resolute Mining is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is gaining more than 1 percent and National Australia Bank is edging up 0.3 percent, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.1 to 0.2 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.654 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Monday, extending the sell-off seen to close out the previous week. The major averages all showed significant declines, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 hitting three-month lows.

The major averages ended the day off their lows of the session but still firmly negative. The Nasdaq plunged 576.08 points or 3.4 percent to 16,200.08, the S&P 500 dove 160.23 points or 3.0 percent to 5,186.33 and the Dow tumbled 1,033.99 or 2.6 percent to 38,703.27.

The major European markets also showed significant moves to the downside. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index tumbled 2.0 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.8 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices move lower on Monday on concerns about the outlook for demand amid fears the U.S. economy could slip into a recession. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September sank $0.58 or 0.7 percent at $72.94 a barrel.