Australian Market Turns To Modest Gains In Mid-market

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is turning its early losses to modest gains in mid-market moves on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous five sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying well above the 8,100 level, with gains in some technology stocks nearly offset by weakness in mining and energy stocks amid softer commodity prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 17.30 points or 0.21 percent to 8,143.50, after hitting a low of 8,109.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 19.40 points or 0.23 percent to 8,360.40. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources is edging down 0.3 percent and Fortescue Metals is down almost 1 percent, while BHP Group and Rio Tinto are losing more than 1 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is declining more than 2 percent, while Santos and Origin Energy are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each. Beach energy is edging up 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing almost 1 percent, Zip is down more than 1 percent and Appen is declining 2.5 percent, while WiseTech Global is advancing more than 5 percent and Xero is adding more than 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is gaining almost 1 percent, while Westpac, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each.

Among gold miners, Newmont and Evolution Mining are losing more than 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is declining almost 2 percent and Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.4 percent. Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.641 on Thursday.