The Australian stock market continues its upward trajectory during mid-session trading on Friday, building on the positive momentum from the last two trading days. This advance persists even in light of negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The S&P/ASX 200 index is comfortably positioned above the 8,200 mark, with widespread gains led by sectors such as gold mining, energy, and technology.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index is currently up by 43.60 points, or 0.53%, reaching 8,244.80, having peaked at 8,249.90 earlier. Similarly, the broader All Ordinaries Index sees an increase of 43.30 points, or 0.51%, rising to 8,508.30. Australian equities had similarly posted significant gains in Thursday's session.
In the mining sector, major players like BHP Group, Rio Tinto, and Mineral Resources are each down by 0.5%, while Fortescue Metals experiences a nearly 1% decline.
Oil stocks are largely on the rise, with Woodside Energy and Beach Energy each up by almost 1%, and Santos increasing by more than 1%. Origin Energy remains unchanged.
Among technology stocks, companies such as Afterpay-owner Block, WiseTech Global, and Xero are recording slight upticks between 0.2% to 0.5%. Meanwhile, Zip is gaining 1.5%, and Appen is up by nearly 1%.
Regarding the major banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and National Australia Bank all rise by close to 1%. ANZ Banking edges upward by 0.4%. The gold mining sector is experiencing gains as well, with Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources each up over 2%, and Resolute Mining and Gold Road Resources almost 3% higher. Newmont is seeing an advance exceeding 3%.
Additionally, Paladin Energy shares are soaring nearly 8% following the news that its major shareholder, JPMorgan Chase & Co, has increased its voting stake from 6.48% to 7.55%.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.621 on Friday.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
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