The Australian stock market continues to see substantial gains for the fourth consecutive session, owing to the buoyant cues from the global markets. The significant index, S&P/ASX 200, exhibits an upward trend exceeding the 7,700 mark. This expansion is primarily driven by the growth in technology, as well as mining and energy stocks, encouraged by the uptick in commodity prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index displays an increase of 34.70 points or 0.45 percent, culminating at 7,717.10. Earlier, it had reached a high of 7,741.80. The All Ordinaries Index is also on the rise, by 39.10 points or 0.49 percent, valuing at 7,991.40. It continues the upward trend from Monday, where Australian stocks closed on a high note.
Major miners are faring well with Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals, Mineral Resources, and BHP Group showing gains over 1 percent. Oil companies like Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are also observing an uptick about 1 percent and 2 percent, respectively, while Beach energy and Santos hold steady.
Tech stocks have WiseTech Global and Xero climbing more than 1 percent each, Zip increasing over 4 percent, and Afterpay owner Block progressing near 5 percent. Meanwhile, Appen has maintained its course.
Gold miners including Gold Road Resources, Newmont, and Northern Star resources are profiting beyond 1 percent each. Evolution Mining and Resolute Mining are also up by approximately 1 and 2 percent, respectively.
Big four banks - Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and National Australia Bank are gaining by nearly 1 percent, 1 percent, and 0.3 percent, respectively. ANZ Banking, however, is seeing a decline of 1.5 percent.
In other market news, Sims shares experienced a drop of over 9 percent due to a significant profit warning and a reportedly missed 90 percent guidance. However, HMC Capital saw a surge of almost 9 percent following a Macquarie conference announcement of its operating earnings per share for next financial year escalating 21 percent to 40 cents.
On the economic front, the Reserve Bank of Australia is concluding its monetary policy meeting to announce its interest rates decision. The RBA is anticipated to maintain its benchmark lending rate at 4.35 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar trades at $0.664.
Reflecting upon global markets, Wall Street continued its upward trend from last week. The significant reaches were the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reaching session highs before closing. The trend was also visible in major European markets with Germany's DAX Index rising 1.0 percent, and both France's CAC 40 Index and the UK's FTSE 100 Index increasing by 0.5 percent.
Crude oil prices settled modestly higher, driven by Saudi Arabia's decision to elevate selling prices for European and Asian markets. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June closed higher by $0.37 or 0.47 percent, reaching $78.48 a barrel.
