The Australian stock market experienced a significant rally on Thursday, recovering from the previous session's losses, influenced by the buoyant trends from Wall Street overnight. The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed beyond the 8,300 mark, with most sectors showing upward momentum, notably technology and financial stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index increased by 126.30 points, or 1.54%, reaching 8,339.60, after hitting an earlier peak of 8,345.60. Similarly, the broader All Ordinaries Index rose by 123.80 points, or 1.46%, to 8,580.60. On Wednesday, Australian stocks closed slightly lower.
Among major mining firms, BHP Group, Rio Tinto, Mineral Resources, and Fortescue Metals all posted gains of nearly 1% each.
Oil stocks mostly traded higher, with Woodside Energy advancing over 1%, Santos edging up 0.4%, while Origin Energy decreased slightly by 0.4%. Beach Energy remained unchanged.
In the technology sector, Block (owner of Afterpay) and WiseTech Global each increased by nearly 3%, Appen added almost 2%, Zip surged nearly 8%, and Xero was up over 1%.
Regarding the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking both gained nearly 3%, Westpac rose over 2%, and National Australia Bank advanced by more than 3%. Gold Road Resources and Resolute Mining both advanced over 1%, Evolution Mining increased by over 2%, and Newmont added almost 3%, while Northern Star Resources slightly decreased by 0.4%.
In economic updates, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the unemployment rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 4.0% in December, meeting expectations, up from 3.9% in November. The participation rate increased to 67.1%, surpassing forecasts of 67.0%. The Australian economy added 56,300 jobs in December, significantly exceeding expectations of a 14,500 increase, following November’s revised gain of 28,200. Full-time employment fell by 23,700 jobs, while part-time employment surged by 80,000.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar was trading at $0.624 on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks gained significantly at the start of Wednesday's session and maintained strong performance throughout the day. The major indices rose sharply, rebounding from a mixed close on Tuesday. The tech-focused Nasdaq exhibited a remarkable gain, soaring 466.84 points, or 2.5%, to 19,511.23, after reaching its lowest closing level in nearly two months in the prior session. The Dow also leaped by 703.27 points, or 1.7%, to 43,221.55, while the S&P 500 increased by 107.00 points, or 1.8%, to 5,949.91.
In Europe, major markets also recorded gains. The German DAX Index surged by 1.5%, the UK’s FTSE 100 Index increased by 1.2%, and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.7%.
Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday, driven by a reduction in U.S. crude inventories last week, coupled with potential supply disruptions due to new sanctions against Russia. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February increased by $2.54, or 3.3%, to $80.04 per barrel.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
www.instaforex.com
