The Australian stock market opened the week on a strong note, augmenting gains from the previous two sessions, despite mixed signals from Wall Street on Friday. The S&P/ASX 200 index surged past the 8,200 mark, setting new all-time highs, with broad-based gains led by iron ore miners and energy stocks driven by a spike in commodity prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 51.30 points, or 0.63%, reaching 8,263.50, after hitting a high of 8,271.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries index rose 53.20 points, or 0.63%, to 8,530.00, following a modest rise in Australian stocks on Friday.
Major mining stocks saw significant gains, with Rio Tinto and BHP Group each up over 1%, Mineral Resources rising almost 2%, and Fortescue Metals advancing more than 3%. In the oil sector, Santos gained more than 1%, Woodside Energy jumped almost 3%, Origin Energy increased nearly 1%, and Beach Energy added almost 2%.
Technology stocks also posted gains. WiseTech Global surged more than 1%, Afterpay owner Block increased by 0.3%, Zip rose almost 2%, and Appen added nearly 1%. However, Xero edged down by 0.5%.
Conversely, gold miners faced declines. Evolution Mining dropped more than 2%, Resolute Mining fell over 3%, and Newmont slipped more than 3%. Northern Star Resources and Gold Road Resources each decreased by over 1%.
The big four banks mostly saw modest gains, with Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank each rising almost 1%, while ANZ Banking and Westpac edged up between 0.2% and 0.5%.
Elsewhere, Star Entertainment shares jumped nearly 15%, recovering from a steep 44% drop on Friday.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar traded at $0.692 on Monday.
In the United States, Wall Street had a mixed performance on Friday. The Dow closed at a new high, gaining 137.89 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 42,313.00. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq fell by 70.70 points, or 0.4%, to 18,119.59, and the S&P 500 edged down 7.20 points, or 0.1%, to 5,738.17.
European markets showed strength, with Germany's DAX index climbing 1.2%, France's CAC 40 index rising 0.6%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index increasing by 0.4%.
Crude oil prices closed higher on Friday, bolstered by new stimulus measures from the Chinese government, which alleviated concerns about demand. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for November rose by $0.51 to $68.18 a barrel.
