Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading modestly higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,550 level, with gains in gold miners, energy and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in iron ore miners.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 29.50 points or 0.35 percent to 8,571.80, after touching a high of 8,576.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 28.00 points or 0.32 percent to 8,801.00. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is declining more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Woodside Energy and Beach energy are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Zip and Xero are advancing more than 2 percent each. Appen is surging almost 5 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star resources and Resolute Mining are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Newmont and Evolution Mining are advancing more than 1 percent each. Gold Road Resources is up almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is gaining almost 1 percent and National Australia Bank is edging up 0.4 percent, while Commonwealth Bank is losing more than 1 percent. Westpac is flat.

In other news, shares in Orthocell Ltd. are jumping more than 7 percent after the regenerative medicine company reported record revenue of $2.73 million for the fourth quarter, driven by strong demand for Remplir in Australia.

Shares in Insignia Financial are also jumping more than 7 percent after CC Capital said it continues to "actively work towards making a binding bid for the company" and would finalise financing and investment committee approvals in the next two weeks.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in June, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global showed on Tuesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.6. That's down from 51.0, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.658 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Monday, adding to the strong gains posted last week. With the continued upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 once again set new record closing highs.

The major averages reached new highs late in the session before giving back some ground going into the close. The Dow advanced 275.50 points or 0.6 percent to 44,094.77, the Nasdaq climbed 96.27 points or 0.5 percent to 20,369.73 and the S&P 500 rose 31.88 points or 0.5 percent to 6,204.95.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slid 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices closed lower on Monday amid a backdrop of easing Middle Eastern tensions and concerns of excess supply as OPEC plans to scale up production. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery closed down by $0.41 to settle at $65.11 per barrel.