Australian Market Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is slightly higher on Thursday, recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving to a tad below the 7,100 level, despite the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, boosted by gains in gold miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 8.60 points or 0.12 percent to 7,099.90, after touching a high of 7,100.00 and a low of 7,077.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 4.80 points or 0.07 percent to 7,278.30. Australian stocks ended sharply lower on Wednesday.

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

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos and Beach energy are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Woodside Energy is losing almost 1 percent. Origin Energy is edging up 0.5 percent.

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

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac and ANZ Banking are also edging down 0.2 to 0.3 percent each.

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

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to contract in May, albeit at a slower rate, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Thursday with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.4. That's up from 48.0, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.649 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stock ended weak on Wednesday after languishing in negative territory right through the day's session. The weakness in the market came as traders kept a close eye on developments regarding the bill to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avoid potentially disastrous default.

The major averages all ended with moderate losses despite coming off the day's lows. The Dow ended the session at 32,908.27 with a loss of 134.51 points or 0.41 percent. The S&P 500 settled with a loss of 25.69 points or 0.61 percent at 4,179.83, while the Nasdaq ended down 82.14 points or 0.63 percent at 12,935.29.

The major European markets also showed significant moves to the downside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 1.01 percent down, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 both lost about 1.55 percent.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday as worries about fuel demand resurfaced, while a stronger dollar also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July slumped $1.37 or 2 percent at $68.09 a barrel.