Australian Market Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - Extending the gains in the previous session, the Australian stock market is trading slightly higher on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying a tad below the 8,100 level, with gains in iron ore miners and energy stocks amid spiking commodity prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 4.70 points or 0.06 percent to 8,089.20, after touching a high of 8,107.30 and a low of 7,801.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 0.50 points or 0.01 percent to 8,312.00. Australian stocks closed significantly higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 2 percent and Rio Tinto is edging up 0.5 percent, while Fortescue Metals and Mineral Resources are adding almost 1 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy is gaining more than 3 percent and Origin Energy is edging up 0.3 percent, while Beach energy and Santos are adding almost 2 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Appen is edging up 0.4 percent and WiseTech Global is adding almost 1 percent, while Xero is losing more than 1 percent and Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.2 percent. Zip is plunging almost 10 percent despite a sharp lift in the value of transactions as more US consumers adopt its short-term credit app. Gold miners are mixed. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 1 percent and Evolution Mining is edging down 0.2 percent, while Resolute Mining is edging up 0.5 percent. Northern Star resources and Newmont are flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.5 percent each, while Westpac, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.

In other news, shares in Johns Lyng Group are plummeting 31 percent after the building services provider reported a decline in full-year revenue and earnings.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.676 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday, with the Dow reaching a new record closing high, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq saw a notable pullback after posting a strong gain last week.

The Dow pulled back well off its best levels of the session and briefly dipped into negative territory but ended the day up 65.44 points or 0.2 percent at 41,240.52. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq slid 152.03 points or 0.9 percent to 17,725.77 and the S&P 500 fell 17.77 points or 0.3 percent at 5,616.84.

The major European markets also finished the day narrowly mixed, with the U.K. markets closed for a holiday. While the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices moved sharply higher on Monday, extending recent gains amid renewed geopolitical concerns after Hezbollah and Israeli forces exchanged attacks across the Lebanon-Israel border. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery shot up $2.36 or 3.2 percent to $77.19 a barrel.