Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading modestly higher on Wednesday, recouping some of the sharp losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 8,200 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in mining and energy stocks amid firmer commodity prices, partially offset by weakness in technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 13.80 points or 0.17 percent to 8,219.50, after touching a high of 8,232.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 15.10 points or 0.18 percent to 8,484.10. Australian stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday.

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

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is edging up 0.1 percent, Beach energy is gaining almost 2 percent and Santos is adding almost 1 percent. Woodside Energy is flat. In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 1 percent, Xero is edging down 0.1 percent and Appen is slipping more than 3 percent, while WiseTech Global and Zip are declining almost 2 percent each.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Westpac are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.1 percent. National Australia Bank is flat.

Among gold miners, Resolute Mining and Gold Road Resources are edging up 0.2 to 0.3 percent each, while Newmont is gaining more than 1 percent. Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.3 percent. Evolution Mining is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.667 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks regained ground over the course of the trading day on Tuesday after coming under pressure early in the session. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day before ending the day little changed.

The major averages moved to the downside going into the close, finishing narrowly mixed. While the Nasdaq rose 33.12 points or 0.2 percent to 18,573.13, the Dow edged down 6.71 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 42,924.89 and the S&P 500 slipped 2.78 points or 0.1 percent to 5,851.20.

Meanwhile, the major European markets saw modest weakness on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index closed just below the unchanged line, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday amid hopes that China's latest stimulus move will push up demand, although the upside was limited by a possible a ceasefire deal in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for November added $1.53 or 2.1 percent at $72.09 a barrel.