Australian Market Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading notably higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving well above the 8,400 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with gains in gold miners, financial and technology stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 42.30 points or 0.50 percent to 8,444.70, after touching a high of 8,455.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 42.60 points or 0.49 percent to 8,695.30. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Mineral Resources and Fortescue Metals are losing more than 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is edging down 0.2 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Woodside Energy is losing almost 2 percent and Beach energy is edging 0.3 percent, while Origin Energy is gaining more than 1 percent and Santos is edging down 0.4 percent.

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

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac are gaining more than 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is adding almost 1 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is gaining more than 1 percent, Gold Road Resources is adding almost 1 percent and Resolute Mining is edging up 0.5 percent, while Newmont and Northern Star Resources are edging down 0.1 to 0.2 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.628 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks largely kept moving higher on Tuesday after a positive start, and the major averages all ended the day's session on a firm note. A drop in bond yields and optimism about a few interest-rate cuts this year contributed to the positive sentiment in the market.

The Dow closed up 537.98 points or 1.24 percent, at 44,025.81. The S&P 500 ended higher by 52.58 points or 0.88 percent, at 6,049.24, while the Nasdaq settled at 19,756.78, gaining 126.58 points or 0.64 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.33 percent, Germany's DAX closed up 0.25 percent and France's CAC 40 ended up 0.48 percent higher.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Tuesday, weighed down by Trump's plans to boost oil and gas production in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February closed down $1.99 or 2.56 percent at $75.89 a barrel.