Australian market modestly higher | Nasdaq

(RTTNews) – Australia’s stock market edged higher on Tuesday, recouping losses from the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropping just slightly below the 7,500 level to nine-month highs, despite largely negative signals from Wall Street overnight, with gains in financials and iron ore mining stocks partially offset by weakness in technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 17.80 points or 0.24% to 7,499.50, after hitting a high of 7,516.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries index is up 11.80 points or 0.15% at 7,712.20. Australian shares closed slightly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group gained nearly 1%, Rio Tinto rose nearly 2% and Fortescue Metals gained 1.5%, while Mineral Resources lost more than 1%. OZ Minerals is flat.

Oil inventories are mostly low. Origin Energy rose 0.1%, while Beach Energy lost more than 1% and Santos fell 0.5%. Woodside Energy is stable. Among tech stocks, Appen is down nearly 1%, Afterpay owner Block is down nearly 3% and Zip is down more than 2%, while Xero is up nearly 1% and WiseTech Global is up 0. 2%.

Gold miners are mostly inferior. Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining fell 0.2% each, while Evolution Mining lost nearly 1%, Resolute Mining fell more than 3% and Gold Road Resources fell nearly 2%.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank gained almost 1%, while Westpac, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking gained 0.3 to 0.5% each.

In economic news, the value of retail sales in Australia fell 3.9% in December, seasonally adjusted, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday, to 34.472 billion Australian dollars. That missed expectations of a 0.3% drop after November’s 1.4% rise. On an annual basis, retail sales climbed 7.5%.

The Reserve Bank of Australia said Tuesday that credit to the private sector in Australia rose 0.3% in December, below expectations of 0.5%, which would have remained unchanged. On an annual basis, credit to the private sector increased by 8.3%.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.705 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks continued to fall through the end of Monday’s session after a weak start as traders opted to lighten exposure ahead of a slew of tech company earnings and the US monetary policy decision. Federal Reserve.

The major averages all ended significantly lower, with the tech-laden Nasdaq posting a steep loss. The Dow Jones ended down 260.99 points or 0.77% at 33,717.09, the S&P 500 fell 52.79 points or 1.3% at 4,017.77, while the Nasdaq closed with a loss of 227.90 points or 1.96% at 11,393.81.

Major European markets also closed broadly lower on Monday as investors focused on corporate earnings updates and anticipating upcoming central bank policy meetings. Germany’s DAX edged down 0.16% and France’s CAC 40 ended down 0.21%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.25%.

Crude oil prices fell to nearly three-week lows on Monday amid concerns about global economic growth and the outlook for oil demand following Russia’s decision to allow its energy companies to determine their own prices and exports. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for March fell $1.78 or 2.2% to $77.90 a barrel.

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