Australian Market Significantly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading significantly higher on Wednesday, recouping the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving to just below the 7,200 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, aided by gains in mining and energy sectors amid firmer commodity prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 57.90 points or 0.81 percent to 7,188.90, after touching a high of 7,194.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 59.90 points or 0.82 percent to 7,396.50. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Mineral Resources is advancing almost 3 percent. OZ Minerals is flat.

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

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 2 percent and Appen is up almost 1 percent, while Xero is slipping more than 6 percent and WiseTech Global is edging down 0.2 percent. Zip is flat.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank is gaining more than 1 percent, ANZ Banking is adding almost 1 percent and Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.1 percent. Westpac is flat.

Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining and Northern Star Resources are gaining almost 2 percent, while Evolution Mining and Gold Road Resources are adding more than 2 percent each. Resolute Mining is up more than 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.689 on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks climbed higher and settled on a firm note on Tuesday after swinging between gains and losses till a little past noon. Optimism surrounding China's reopening helped offset concerns about interest rates.

The major averages all ended with strong gains. The Dow ended higher by 186.45 points or 0.56 percent at 33,704.10. The S&P 500 settled at 3,919.25, up 27.16 points or 0.7 percent from the previous close. The Nasdaq climbed 106.98 points or 1.01 percent to settle at 10,742.63.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 0.39 percent, Germany's DAX ended 0.12 percent down, and France's CAC 40 drifted down 0.55 percent.

Crude oil prices settled higher on Tuesday, gaining for a fourth straight session, amid expectations energy demand will pick up after China decided to reopen its economy. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended higher by $0.49 or about 0.7 percent at $75.12 a barrel.