Australian Market Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading notably higher on Tuesday, snapping a three-session losing streak, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,600 level, with gains in mining and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 37.90 points or 0.44 percent to 8,621.30, after touching a high of 8,632.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 33.50 points or 0.38 percent to 8,826.90. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Mineral Resources are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Fortescue is edging up 0.5 percent and Rio Tinto is advancing more than 2 percent. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is declining almost 1 percent, while Santos, Origin Energy and Beach energy are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing almost 2 percent and Zip is declining more than 3 percent, while WiseTech Global, Xero and Appen are down almost 1 percent each.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining is gaining more than 1 percent and Genesis Minerals is adding almost 1 percent, while Resolute Mining and Newmont are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each. Northern Star resources is edging down 0.3 percent.

Among the big four banks, Westpac is gaining almost 1 percent, while Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each.

In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia will wrap up its monetary policy on Tuesday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The RBA is expected to hike its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, to 4.10 percent from 3.85 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.707 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Monday after moving notably lower over the past few sessions. The major averages all moved notably higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way.

The major averages ended the day off their highs of the session but still sharply higher. The Nasdaq surged 268.82 points or 1.2 percent to 22,374.18, the S&P 500 jumped 67.19 points or 1.0 percent to 6,699.38 and the Dow advanced 387.94 points or 0.8 percent to 46,946.41

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index rose by 0.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index increased by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices slipped Monday as the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz showed mild signs of easing. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was down $5.38 or 5.45 percent at $93.33 per barrel.