(RTTNews) – The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying below the 7,300 level, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, as technology stocks mirrored their peers on tech-heavy Nasdaq and as traders digested some corporate earnings news.
Trades also remain concerned about the domestic new coronavirus infections, though off record highs. New South Wales records 10,130 new cases and 24 deaths on Wednesday. Victoria reported 9,391 new cases and 16 deaths, Queensland recorded 5,854 new cases and eight deaths, Tasmania reported 637 new cases and one death and ACT reported 500 new cases.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 14.00 points or 0.19 percent to 7,282.30, after touching a high of 7,336.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 19.30 points or 0.26 percent to 7,592.10. Australian markets ended sharply higher on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 1 percent, Rio Tinto is adding more than 2 percent and Fortescue Metals is surging more than 4 percent, while Mineral Resources and OZ Minerals are rising more than 3 percent each.
Oil stocks are mixed. Woodside Petroleum is losing more than 1 percent and Santos is edging down 0.5 percent, while Origin Energy and Beach Energy are gaining more than 1 percent each.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.5 percent, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are edging up 0.4 percent each.
National Australia Bank is advancing more than 3 percent after strong quarterly cash profit and revenue, driven by higher house prices and robust lending, but margins narrowed and warned challenges from the pandemic remain.
In the tech space, Block is surging more than 9 percent, Zip is adding more than 1 percent, Appen is gaining more than 3 percent, Xero is advancing almost 2 percent and WiseTech Global is edging up 0.3 percent
Gold miners are mixed. Newcrest Mining is edging down 0.4 percent and Resolute Mining is losing 2.5 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is edging up 0.5 percent, Evolution Mining is gaining more than 2 percent. Gold Road Resources is flat.
In other news, shares in AMP are gaining almost 4 percent after the financial services firm reported a full-year loss compared to a profit last year. It will also not pay a final dividend.
Shares in ASX Ltd. are losing almost 4 percent despite the markets operator delivering higher profits for the first half, helped by a surge in capital raisings. It is also raising its interim dividend by 3.5 percent.
Shares in COVID-19 rapid antigen test maker Anteotech are sliding almost 9 percent after it revealed that the Therapeutic Goods Administration has asked it to collect more clinical evidence about the effectiveness of its tests before they are approved.
In economic news, the total number of housing permits issued in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 8.2 percent on month in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday – coming in at 17,698. That was in line with expectations and up from 2.6 percent in November. On a yearly basis, overall approvals fell 7.5 percent, private sector houses tumbled 21.3 percent and dwellings excluding houses jumped 24.5 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.717 on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a strong move to the upside during trading on Wednesday, extending the rally seen in the previous session. The major averages all moved notably higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq helping to lead the advance.
The Nasdaq reached a new high for the session going into the close, spiking 295.92 points or 2.1 percent to 14,490.37. The S&P 500 also surged up 65.64 points or 1.5 percent to 4,587.18, while the Dow jumped 305.28 points or 0.9 percent to 35,768.06.
The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index surged up by 1.5 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices moved higher Wednesday after data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $0.30 or 0.3 percent at $89.66 a barrel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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