Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading modestly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,800 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in iron ore miners amid firmer metals prices and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 24.70 points or 0.32 percent to 7,848.90, after touching a high of 7,869.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 27.50 points or 0.34 percent to 8,108.70. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is advancing almost 2 percent and BHP Group is adding almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Santos is edging down 0.4 percent and Woodside Energy is losing more than 1 percent, while Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent and Beach energy is edging up 0.3 percent. In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 1 percent, Appen is soaring almost 10 percent and Zip is gaining more than 2 percent, while Xero is slipping almost 1 percent and WiseTech Global is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.2 percent, while Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each. ANZ Banking is flat. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Gold Road Resources are losing almost 1 percent. Newmont is gaining almost 1 percent. Resolute Mining is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.663 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks saw considerable volatility over the course of the trading session on Tuesday, following the lackluster performance seen on Monday. The major averages fluctuated as the day progressed, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 eventually closing in positive territory.

While the Nasdaq rose 52.68 points or 0.3 percent to 16,306.64 and the S&P 500 inched up 7.52 points or 0.1 percent to 5,209.91, the narrower Dow ended the day slightly lower, edging down 9.13 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 38,883.67.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index tumbled 1.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday, slumping for a second straight session as traders assessed the prospect of meaningful progress in Gaza ceasefire talks. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May sank $1.20 or 1.4 percent at $85.23 a barrel.