Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly higher in choppy trading on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 6,800 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, as traders remain cautious and pick up battered stocks at a bargain following the recent market weakness.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 25.40 points or 0.38 percent to 6,804.60, after touching a high of 6,809.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 26.40 points or 0.38 percent to 7,002.60. Australian stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 1 percent, OZ Minerals is down almost 1 percent, Rio Tinto is edging down 0.5 percent and Fortescue Metals is flat, while Mineral Resources is gaining more than 1 percent.

BHP announced a 2 percent rise in first-quarter iron ore production on lower COVID-19 impacts, but left its annual production and cost guidance unchanged.

Oil stocks are lower. Santos and Woodside Energy are losing more than 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is edging up 0.2 percent. Beach energy is slipping more than 4 percent after it announced a quarterly production decline of 8 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are edging down 0.3 percent each, while Zip is losing more than 2 percent and Appen is down more than 1 percent. Xero is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are adding almost 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.4 percent. Westpac is flat after announcing it will close down another 23 branches across Australia.

Among gold miners, Gold Road Resources and Northern Star Resources are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Evolution Mining is edging down 0.4 percent and Newcrest Mining is down more than 1 percent. Resolute Mining is sliding almost 5 percent.

In other news, shares in Chalice Mining are soaring 10 percent after confirming a major extension of its Julimar Nickel-Copper-Platinum Group Element (PGE) Project in Western Australia.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.631 on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks gave back some ground over the course of the trading day on Tuesday after surging early in the session, but managed to close firmly positive. The major averages added to the strong gains posted on Monday, further offsetting recent weakness.

The Dow pulled back well off its early high but still ended the day up 337.98 points or 1.1 percent at 30,523.80, its best closing level in almost a month. The Nasdaq advanced 96.60 points or 0.9 percent to 10,772.40 and the S&P 500 jumped 42.03 points or 1.1 percent at 3,719.98.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day but closed well off their best levels. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday after a volatile session amid uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November slumped $2.64 or 3.1 percent at $82.82 a barrel.