Australian Market Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is notably higher on Friday, extending the gains in the previous four sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,200 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors, led by miners and technology stocks. Energy stocks were also strong amid the spike in crude oil prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 40.00 points or 0.56 percent to 7,215.30, after touching a high of 7,221.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 42.70 points or 0.58 percent to 7,412.70. Australian markets ended modestly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources is gaining more than 3 percent and BHP Group is edging up 0.1 percent, while Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are losing almost 1 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is gaining almost 2 percent, Beach energy is up almost 1 percent and Woodside Energy is adding more than 1 percent, while Origin Energy is edging down 0.3 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Appen is surging more than 6 percent, Zip is adding more than 1 percent and Xero is advancing more than 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.2 to 9.3 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is gaining almost 1 percent. ANZ Banking is flat.

Gold miners are strong. Gold Road Resources is gaining almost 3 percent, Newcrest Mining is adding almost 1 percent and Resolute Mining is advancing more than 2 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining are up 1.5 percent each.

In other news, shares in AGL are soaring almost 14 percent after the energy giant upgraded its profit outlook for the full-year 2023. It also said it is on track to double its profit next year amid higher wholesale electricity prices and improved performance at generating plants.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.688 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday following the mixed performance seen in the previous session. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 once again reached their best closing levels in over a year, while the Dow set to a six-month closing high.

The major averages pulled back off their highs of the session going into the close but held on to strong gains. The Dow shot up 428.73 points or 1.3 percent to 34,408.06, the Nasdaq jumped 156.34 points or 1.2 percent to 13,782.82 and the S&P 500 surged 53.25 points or 1.2 percent to 4,425.84.

Meanwhile, the major European markets also finished the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index dipped by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.5 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Thursday, buoyed by reports suggesting a jump in demand from Chinese refineries and additional stimulus from the Chinese central bank. The dollar's weakness also contributed to the jumped in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended higher by $2.35 or 3.4 percent at $70.62 a barrel.