Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading modestly higher on Friday, reversing the slight losses in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,950 level, with gains in financial and energy stocks partially offset by weakness in gold miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 32.80 points or 0.37 percent to 8,960.30, after touching a high of 8,971.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 26.30 points or 0.29 percent to 9,263.20. Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, Fortescue and Mineral Resources are losing more than 1 percent each, while BHP Group and Rio Tinto are gaining almost 1 percent each. Oil stocks are higher. Santos and Beach energy are advancing more than 3 percent each, while Woodside Energy is gaining more than 1 percent and Origin Energy is edging up 0.4 percent. Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is losing more than 3 percent and Zip is slipping almost 1 percent, while Xero and WiseTech Global are down more than 1 percent each. Appen is again skyrocketing almost 29 after reporting upbeat revenues for the fourth quarter, driven by growth in its China and global businesses.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Westpac is gaining almost 1 percent. Gold miners are weak. Evolution Mining is down more than 1 percent and Resolute Mining declining almost 2 percent, while Newmont and Genesis Minerals are is losing more than 3 percent each. Northern Star Resources is flat.

In other news, shares in Ioneer are tumbling almost 16 percent after the lithium and boron company announced the receipt of firm commitments from institutional, professional, and sophisticated investors to raise approximately US$50 million.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.703 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a substantial recovery attempt over the course of the trading day on Thursday following a nosedive seen early in the session. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day, with the Dow reaching positive territory.

The Dow ended the day up 55.96 points or 0.1 percent at 49,071.56, while the S&P 500 closed down just 9.02 points or 0.1 percent at 6,969.01. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day more firmly negative, down 172.33 points or 0.7 percent at 23,685.12, although it had tumbled by as much as 2.6 percent.

The major European markets also turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index dove by 2.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index crept up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices spiked on Thursday as Iran shrugged off U.S. threats to negotiate or face attack, causing concerns over possible supply disruptions. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $2.23 or 3.53 percent at $65.44 per barrel.