Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Friday, recouping the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,100 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with particular strength in energy stocks amid a spike in crude oil prices, partially offset weakness in financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 13.70 points or 0.19 percent to 7,126.50, after touching a high of 7,137.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 15.30 points or 0.21 percent to 7,373.00. Australian markets ended modestly lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, OZ Minerals and Fortescue Metals are adding more than 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are up almost 1 percent each.

Oil stocks are higher. Origin Energy is gaining more than 1 percent, Beach energy is adding almost 2 percent, Woodside Energy is advancing more than 4 percent and Santos is rising almost 5 percent. AGL Energy is down more than 3 percent after reporting an expected loss for the full year.

Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global is gaining more than 2 percent and Zip is adding almost 1 percent, while Appen is slipping more than 2 percent and Xero is declining more than 1 percent. Afterpay owner Block is flat. Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Westpac are losing more than 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is slipping almost 1 percent and ANZ Banking is down more than 2 percent.

Gold miners are mixed. Northern Star Resources is edging up 0.4 percent, Resolute Mining is gaining 2.5 percent and Gold Road Resources is adding 1.5 percent, while Evolution Mining is edging down 0.4 percent. Newcrest Mining is up more than 3 percent despite reporting a drop in profit for the full-year 2022.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.690 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the session on Thursday following the pullback seen during trading on Wednesday. The major averages spent most of the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The major averages eventually ended the session modestly higher. The Dow inched up 18.72 points or 0.1 percent to 33,999.04, the Nasdaq rose 27.22 points or 0.2 percent to 12,965.34 and the S&P 500 edged up 9.70 points or 0.2 percent to 4,283.74.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both climbed by 0.5 percent.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Thursday, continuing to benefit from Wednesday's data that showed declines in crude and gasoline inventories in the week ended August 12. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $2.39 or about 2.7 percent at $90.50 a barrel.