The Australian stock market continued its upward trajectory for the fourth consecutive session, posting substantial gains on Tuesday. This comes after a mixed performance on Wall Street the night before. The S&P/ASX 200 index has surpassed the 8,300 mark, with notable rallies in the energy and mining sectors driven by strong commodity prices. The S&P/ASX 200 Index has advanced by 64.90 points, or 0.78%, reaching 8,365.10, after peaking at 8,367.60 earlier. Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries Index rose by 65.60 points, or 0.77%, to 8,620.00. On Monday, Australian shares closed slightly up.
In the mining sector, major players such as BHP Group, Mineral Resources, and Rio Tinto are experiencing marginal declines between 0.2% and 0.5%, with Fortescue Metals seeing a drop of nearly 2%.
The oil sector is exhibiting upward movement. Origin Energy has increased by nearly 1%, Santos by over 2%, while Woodside Energy and Beach Energy are both up almost 2%.
Technology stocks are experiencing strong performances, led by Block, the owner of Afterpay, which is surging more than 6%. Zip is up by 1.5%, Appen by over 2%, and both WiseTech Global and Xero are advancing about 3%.
In the gold mining sector, stocks are mostly on the rise. Gold Road Resources, Newmont, and Northern Star Resources are all up more than 2%, Evolution Mining has increased nearly 3%, and Resolute Mining has surged by almost 16%.
Regarding the major banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and National Australia Bank are each posting gains of close to 1%, with ANZ Banking remaining steady.
Elsewhere, TechnologyOne shares have soared over 11% following the announcement of a 15% increase in net profit for the full year and a 17% rise in revenue. The company has also declared a full-year dividend of 22.45 cents per share.
Economic updates reveal that the Reserve Bank of Australia is set to release minutes from its November 5 monetary policy meeting. During that session, the RBA opted to maintain its benchmark interest rate at a 13-year peak of 4.35% for the eighth consecutive session, citing persistently high underlying inflation. The last rate change occurred in November 2023, with an increase of 25 basis points bringing it to the highest level since late 2011.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.650.
On the U.S. front, following a downturn on Friday, Wall Street saw stocks rebound on Monday. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices recovered, albeit the Dow closed marginally down.
The Nasdaq index rose by 111.69 points, or 0.6%, reaching 18,791.81, while the S&P 500 saw an increase of 23.00 points, or 0.4%, ending at 5,893.62. In contrast, the Dow decreased slightly by 55.39 points, or 0.1%, to 43,389.60.
In Europe, market activity revealed mixed trends, with Germany’s DAX Index down by 0.1%. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 Index experienced a slight increase of 0.1%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6%.
Crude oil prices rose on Monday amid concerns over potential supply shortages linked to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, coupled with a weaker dollar influencing the upward price trend. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December closed with a gain of $2.14, or 3.2%, reaching $69.16 per barrel.
