Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market modestly higher on Tuesday, recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving to nearly the 6,700 level, despite the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, with strong gains in mining stocks amid a spike in metal prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 26.80 points or 0.40 percent to 6,694.60, after touching a high of 6,712.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 24.90 points or 0.36 percent to 6,896.90. Australian stocks closed sharply lower on Monday.

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

Oil stocks are lower. Beach energy is losing almost 2 percent, Santos is down more than 1 percent and Woodside Energy is declining 1.5 percent. Origin Energy is flat. Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block, WiseTech Global, Xero and Appen are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Zip is losing almost 1 percent.

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

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.4 percent each, while Westpac is edging up 0.3 percent and ANZ Banking is advancing almost 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.630 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Monday, extending recent losses, as worries about interest rate hikes and slowing growth continued to weigh on sentiment. Technology stocks fell on Biden administration's decision to impose export controls on China.

The major averages all ended in negative territory. The Dow ended with a loss of 93.91 points or 0.32 percent at 29,202.88. The S&P 500 settled at 3,612.39, losing 27.27 points or 0.75 percent, while the Nasdaq ended with a loss of 110.30 points or 1.04 percent at 10,542.10, the lowest close in over 2 years.

The major European markets also closed weak on the day, with The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 both ending lower by 0.45 percent, and Germany's DAX settling flat.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday as soft data from China raised concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November sank $1.51 or 1.6 percent at 91.13 a barrel.