Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading modestly higher on Wednesday, adding to the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 8,600 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in financial and energy stocks partially offset by weakness in gold mining stocks. Technology and iron ore miner stocks were mixed.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 28.40 points or 0.33 percent to 8,608.10, after touching a high of 8,610.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 29.60 points or 0.33 percent to 8,907.10. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is edging up 0.2 percent and Mineral Resources is adding more than 1 percent, while Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent. Fortescue is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is adding more than 1 percent, Woodside Energy is edging up 0.2 percent and Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent. Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is tumbling more than 6 percent and Xero is edging down 0.2 percent, while Appen is gaining more than 2 percent, Zip is advancing almost 3 percent and WiseTech Global is adding more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Westpac and National Australia bank are edging up 0.2 percent each, while ANZ Banking is gaining more than 1 percent and Commonwealth Bank is adding almost 1 percent. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is edging down 0.4 percent, Resolute Mining is slipping more than 2 percent and Northern Star Resources is declining more than 1 percent, while Newmont and Genesis Minerals are down almost 1 percent each.

In other news, shares in Predictive Discovery are skyrocketing more than 16 percent after Perseus Mining tabled an unsolicited takeover bid that values the gold miner higher than its planned merger with Robex Resources.

In economic news, Australia's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent on quarter in the third quarter of 2025, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. That missed forecasts for an increase of 0.7 percent, which would have been unchanged from the previous three months following an upward revision from 0.6 percent.

On a yearly basis, GDP was up 2.1 percent - again missing expectations for 2.2 percent but still up from the upwardly revised 2.0 percent increase in the three months prior (originally 1.8 percent). GDP per capita was flat this quarter but increased 0.4 percent since September 2024.

Meanwhile, the services sector in Australia continued to expand in November, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Wednesday with a services PMI core of 52.8. That's up from 52.5 in October and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.657 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Tuesday after an early move to the upside but largely maintained a positive bias. The major averages all ended the day in positive territory, regaining ground following the pullback seen during Monday's trading.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 137.75 points or 0.6 percent to 23,413.67, the Dow climbed 185.13 points or 0.4 percent to 47,474.46 and the S&P 500 rose 16.74 points or 0.3 percent to 6,829.37.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned mixed over the course of the session. While the German DAX Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed marginally lower and the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices gave ground on Tuesday as efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict have sent positive signals of a ceasefire sooner than expected. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down $0.55 or 0.93 percent at $58.77 per barrel.