Australian Market Significantly Higher

(RTTNews) - Snapping a four-session losing streak, the Australian stock market is significantly higher on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 7,500 level, with gains across most sectors led by technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 79.40 points or 1.07 percent to 7,530.90, after touching a high of 7,541.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 82.50 points or 1.08 percent to 7, 759.30. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals and Mineral Resources are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is edging up 0.4 percent and BHP Group is adding almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Woodside Energy and Santos are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Origin Energy is edging up 0.1 percent and Beach energy is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global, Appen and Xero are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Afterpay owner Block is adding almost 4 percent and Zip is advancing almost 5 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources and Resolute Mining are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Evolution Mining and Newmont are gaining almost 1 percent each. Northern Star resources is adding more than 1 percent.

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

In economic news, the value of retail sales in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 2.0 percent on month to A$36,511.8 million. That beat forecasts for a gain on 1.2 percent following the downwardly revised 0.4 percent drop in October (originally -0.2 percent). On a yearly basis, sales rose 2.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the total number of building permits issued in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 1.6 percent on month in November, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday - coming in at 14,529. That beat expectations for a decline of 2.0 percent following the downwardly revised 7.2 percent spike in October (originally 7.5 percent). On a yearly basis, approvals for private sector homes fell 6.2 percent, for dwellings excluding homes rose 0.8 percent and overall shed 4.6 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.672 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks ended on a buoyant note on Monday, with the Nasdaq outperforming the other major averages thanks to hectic buying in the technology sector. A drop in bond yields, and optimism about the outlook for stocks, despite recent uncertainty about the likelihood of near-term interest rate cuts, helped push stock prices up.

The major averages all ended with strong gains. The Dow ended up 216.90 points or 0.58 percent at 37,683.01, the S&P 500 climbed 66.30 points or 1.41 percent to 4,763.54, and the Nasdaq settled with a gain of 319.70 points or 2.2 percent at 14,843.77.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.06 percent, and Germany's DAX climbed 0.74 percent, while France's CAC 40 advanced 0.4 percent.

Crude oil fell sharply on Monday as Saudi Arabia's decision to cut prices offset concerns about an escalation in the Middle East conflict. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for February ended down $3.04 or 4.4 percent at $70.77 a barrel.