Australian Market Swings To Modest Gains In Mid-market

RTTNews | 73 dias atrás

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is swinging to modest gains in mid-market moves on Friday after opening in the red, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying above the 8,400 level, with gains in gold miners and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in iron ore miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 12.20 points or 0.15 percent to 8,422.00, after hitting a low of 8,384.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 8.90 points or 0.10 percent to 8,646.70. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, Fortescue Metals is losing more than 1 percent, Rio Tinto is edging down 0.5 percent and Mineral Resources is declining almost 3 percent, while BHP Group is edging up 0.1 percent. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy and Santos are losing more than 1 percent each, while Beach energy is down 1.5 percent. Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent. Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is losing almost 3 percent, Xero is slipping more than 1 percent, Zip is declining almost 2 percent, WiseTech Global is down more than 2 percent and Appen is sliding almost 6 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac are adding almost 1 percent, while ANZ Banking is edging up 0.3 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources is gaining more than 1 percent and Evolution Mining is edging up 0.2 percent, while Resolute Mining and Northern Star Resources are adding almost 2 percent each. Newmont is edging down 0.4 percent.

In other news, shares in HealthCo Healthcare & Wellness REIT are jumping almost 11 percent after striking an agreement with Healthscope and its receivers to partially defer rental payments.

In economic news, Australian retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.1 percent in April 2025, missing market expectations for a 0.3 percent rise. This marked the first decline in retail turnover since December.

Preliminary estimates also showed that seasonally adjusted number of total dwellings approved in Australia unexpectedly shrank by 5.7 percent month-over-month to an eight-month low of 14,633 units in April 2025. It was also lower than the downwardly revised 7.1 percent fall in the previous month, marking the third consecutive monthly decline and missing market forecasts of 3.1 percent growth.

Meanwhile, private house approvals in Australia increased by 3.1 percent month-over-month to a seven-month high of 9,349 units in April 2025, recovering sharply from a downwardly revised 1.9 percent drop in March, preliminary estimates showed.

Australia's private sector credit increased by 0.7 percent month-over-month in April 2025, following a 0.5 percent growth in each of the previous three months, surpassing market expectations of a 0.5 percent rise. This marked the highest monthly growth since September 2022.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.642 on Friday.

Singapore Bourse May Give Up Support At 4,200 Points

The Singapore stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, slipping more than 25 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 4,230-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft ahead of key U.S. inflation data. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets also figure to track into the red.

RTTNews | 22 minutos atrás

Rally May Stall For Malaysia Stock Market

The Malaysia stock market has moved higher in five straight sessions, collecting more than 35 points or 2.4 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,560-point plateau although it's due for consolidation on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft ahead of key U.S. inflation data. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets also figure to track into the red.

RTTNews | 52 minutos atrás

Win Streak May End For Japan Stock Market

Ahead of Monday's holiday for Mountain Day, the Japan stock market had moved higher in four consecutive sessions, advancing more than 1,580 points or 3.8 percent along the way. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 41,820-point plateau although investors are likely to lock in gains on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft ahead of key U.S. inflation data. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets also figure to track into the red. The Nikkei finished sharply higher on Friday with gains cross the board, especially among the finance, automobile and technology sectors. For the day, the index surged 761.38 points or 1.85 percent to finish at 41,820.48 after trading between 41,248.05 and 42,033.92. Among the actives, Nissan Motor accelerated 2.75 percent, while Mazda Motor spiked 4.91 percent, Toyota Motor jumped 3.47 percent, Honda Motor rallied 3.95 percent, Softbank Group skyrocketed 10.39 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial collected 0.64 percent, Mizuho Financial advanced 1.02 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial added 0.71 percent, Mitsubishi Electric fell 0.28 percent, Sony Group soared 3.50 percent, Panasonic Holdings climbed 1.16 percent and Hitachi rose 0.50 percent. The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened mixed on Monday, rallied midday but then slumped in the afternoon and finished under water.

RTTNews | 1 h 7 min atrás

Continued Consolidation Called For South Korea Shares

The South Korea stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking more than 20 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The KOSPI now sits just above the 3,200-point plateau and it may take further damage again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft ahead of key U.S. inflation data. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets also figure to track into the red.

RTTNews | 1 h 22 min atrás

Australia Interest Rate Decision On Tap For Tuesday

The Reserve Bank of Australia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting this morning and then announce its decision on interest rates, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The RBA is expected lower its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, to 3.60 percent from 3.85 percent.

RTTNews | 2 h 22 min atrás

U.S. Dollar Firms Against Majors

The U.S. dollar strengthened against its major counterparts in the New York session on Monday.

RTTNews | 3 h 45 min atrás

Swiss Market Fails To Hold Early Gains, Ends Just Slightly Up

Despite opening on a firm note, the Switzerland market paring gains and even slipped into negative territory in late afternoon trades on Monday, but managed to end the day's session slightly up.

RTTNews | 6 h 38 min atrás

European Stocks Close On Mixed Note After Cautious Session

European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Monday after a cautious session as investors looked ahead to upcoming talks between the U.S. and Russia on the Ukraine war issue, and the ongoing tariff negotiations between the U.S. and China, as well as some crucial economic data, including a report on consumer price inflation in the world's largest economy.

RTTNews | 7 h 2 min atrás

EURUSD	1.16136	GBPUSD	1.34299	AUDUSD	0.65183
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