The Australian stock market displayed a modest uptick on Thursday, following a favorable opening but briefly dipping into negative territory. This comes as the market attempts to recover from recent losses over the last two sessions, amidst the absence of guiding cues from global markets due to a holiday closure. The S&P/ASX 200 index remains significantly below the 8,100 threshold, bolstered by gains in iron ore mining and energy sectors.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index has risen by 7.90 points, or 0.10%, reaching 8,167.00 after peaking earlier at 8,184.10. Similarly, the broader All Ordinaries Index has increased by 5.40 points, or 0.06%, settling at 8,425.90. Australian equities concluded markedly lower on Tuesday in anticipation of the Wednesday holiday.
In the mining sector, Fortescue Metals is up nearly 1%, while both BHP Group and Rio Tinto have inched up by 0.3 to 0.4%. Mineral Resources, however, has dipped by 0.3%.
The oil sector is seeing gains, with Woodside Energy rising nearly 1%; Beach Energy and Santos are each seeing a slight increase of 0.1 to 0.2%. Conversely, Origin Energy has edged down by 0.1%.
In the technology sector, Block, the parent company of Afterpay, has fallen by more than 2%, Xero by nearly 1%, and Zip is down over 1%. Meanwhile, WiseTech Global and Appen have each gained 1.5%.
Among the prominent banks, National Australia Bank has edged up 0.1%, while ANZ Banking has edged down by 0.3%. Both Commonwealth Bank and Westpac remain unchanged. As for gold miners, Evolution Mining, Northern Star Resources, and Gold Road Resources have decreased by 0.1 to 0.5%, while Resolute Mining and Newmont have gained nearly 1% each.
From an economic perspective, Australia's CoreLogic Home Value Index recorded a 0.1% decline in December 2024, marking the first decrease in nearly two years, following an unexpectedly robust growth period from February 2023 to October 2024. Annually, home values in Australia increased by 4.9% in 2024.
In other economic news, the Judo Bank Australia Manufacturing PMI dropped to 47.8 in December 2024, down from 49.4 in November, according to the final data. This indicates the eleventh continuous month of worsening manufacturing conditions, with the decline surpassing the preliminary estimate of 48.2.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is valued at $0.620 on Thursday.
Global market activities were minimal due to the New Year holiday closures, with Wall Street closing lower previously on Friday. Major European markets were also closed on Wednesday following notable gains on Friday.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
www.instaforex.com
