Australian Market Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is slightly higher on Monday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying a tad above the 7,200 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets on Friday, with miners pushing the market higher amid improved commodity prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 6.70 points or 0.09 percent to 7,210.00, after touching a high of 7,221.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 7.20 points or 0.10 percent to 7,418.70. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.2 to 0.3 percent each, while Mineral Resources is gaining almost 2 percent. Fortescue Metals is flat.

Oil stocks are mixed. Santos and Woodside Energy are edging down 0.1 percent each, while Beach energy is gaining almost 1 percent. Origin Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Xero is losing more than 1 percent and WiseTech Global is declining almost 2 percent, while Appen is edging up 0.4 percent and Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 2 percent. Zip is flat.

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

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.3 percent each, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are flat.

In other news, share in United Malt Group are surging more than 9 percent after the malt producer agreed to a A$1.5 billion takeover offer from Malteries Soufflet, a branch of French agribusiness InVivo.

Shares in Australian Vintage are soaring more than 10 percent after the winemaker hired corporate advisory firm E&P for a strategic review of its $100 million business.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to contract in June, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.2. That's down from 48.4 in May and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.665 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Friday, adding to the gains posted in Thursday's session. The major averages all moved to the upside on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the advance.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels going into the close but held on to strong gains. The Nasdaq surged 196.59 points or 1.5 percent to 13,787.92, the S&P 500 jumped 53.94 points or 1.2 percent to 4,450.38 and the Dow climbed 285.18 points or 0.8 percent to 34,407.60.

The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.2 percent and the German DAX Index surged by 1.3 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Friday, extending recent gains, as a drop in U.S. crude inventories continued to support the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $0.78 or 1.1 percent at $70.64 a barrel. However, WTI Crude futures shed about 12 percent in the first half and more than 6 percent in the second quarter.