Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Friday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying below the 7,100 level, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, boosted by gains in mining and energy stocks amid a rebound in commodity prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 23.50 points or 0.33 percent to 7,087.10, after touching a high of 7,090.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 24.00 points or 0.33 percent to 7,283.30. Australian markets ended slightly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are gaining almost 3 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is adding almost 2 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing more than 3 percent. OZ Minerals is flat.

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

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and Appen are losing almost 1 percent each, while Zip and Xero are declining almost 3 percent each. WiseTech Global is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while ANZ Banking is flat. Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star Resources and Gold Road Resources are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Newcrest Mining is adding more than 1 percent and Evolution Mining is edging up 0.5 percent. Resolute Mining is losing more than 2 percent.

In other news, shares in Magellan Financial Group are plunging more than 9 percent after it reported a decline in assets under management.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.677 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower in early trading on Thursday and remained firmly negative throughout the session. With the steep drop on the day, the major averages more than offset the gains posted in the previous session.

The major averages all showed notable moves to the downside on the day. The Dow slumped 339.69 points or 1.0 percent to 32,930.08, the Nasdaq plunged 152.52 points or 1.5 percent to 10,305.24 and the S&P 500 tumbled 44.87 points or 1.2 percent to 3,808.10.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Thursday, rebounding from recent losses, after data showed gasoline and distillate stockpiles dropped in the week ended December 30th. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended higher by $0.83 or about 1.1 percent at $73.67 a barrel.