The Australian stock market is experiencing moderate gains in Thursday's mid-session, recovering from an early dip. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 has approached the 8,200 mark, buoyed by advances in mining, energy, and technology sectors.
Currently, the S&P/ASX 200 Index has risen by 26.40 points, or 0.32%, to stand at 8,185.50, after having earlier reached a peak of 8,199.70. Similarly, the broader All Ordinaries Index is up 28.10 points, or 0.33%, to 8,448.60. On Tuesday, the market closed notably lower in anticipation of Wednesday's public holiday.
In the mining sector, Fortescue Metals has increased by over 2%, Mineral Resources by more than 1%, with BHP Group and Rio Tinto seeing slight upticks of 0.3% to 0.5%.
Oil stocks mostly show gains: Beach Energy, Santos, and Woodside Energy each rising close to 1%, although Origin Energy has dipped slightly by 0.1%.
In the technology sector, Afterpay's parent company Block is down over 2%, Xero is down nearly 1%, while Zip has edged up by 0.5%. WiseTech Global has gained over 2%, and Appen is up by more than 8%.
Regarding the financial sector, National Australia Bank shows a marginal increase of 0.1%, ANZ Banking has slipped by 0.3%, with Commonwealth Bank and Westpac remaining steady. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources have increased by 0.3% to 0.5%, Gold Road Resources by nearly 1%, Resolute Mining by almost 2%, and Newmont by over 1%.
In economic updates, Australia's CoreLogic Home Value Index decreased 0.1% month-on-month in December 2024, marking the first decline in nearly two years. This follows an unexpected growth phase from February 2023 to October 2024, with home values increasing by 4.9% annually in 2024.
Additionally, the Judo Bank Australia Manufacturing PMI dropped to 47.8 in December, down from 49.4 in November according to final data, marking the eleventh successive month of declining manufacturing conditions, which worsened beyond the initial estimate of 48.2.
In currency trading, the Australian dollar is valued at $0.621 on Thursday.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
www.instaforex.com
