Australian Market Extends Gains In Mid-market

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is extending its gains in mid-market trading on Tuesday, continuing to add to the gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying a tad above the 8,200 level, with stocks across sectors trading mixed amid a lack of direction ahead of the Christmas holidays.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 11.40 points or 0.14 percent to 8,213.00, after touching a high of 8,215.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 12.00 points or 0.14 percent to 8,464.70. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are losing almost 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is edging down 0.1 percent. Mineral Resources is edging up 0.2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy and Santos are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Woodside Energy is gaining more than 1 percent and Beach energy is adding almost 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 1 percent, Appen is declining 3.5 percent and Zip is down 2.5 percent, while WiseTech Global is gaining more than 1 percent and Xero is edging up 0.2 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Gold Road Resources and Northern Star resources are losing almost 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is declining more than 2 percent. Newmont is edging up 0.2 percent. Evolution Mining is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are all edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.624 on Monday.