The Australian stock market is rising for a third straight day on Thursday following the record closing highs overnight on Wall Street after Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. Investors are optimistic that the Biden administration will announce additional stimulus to spur growth in the world's largest economy.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 40.30 points or 0.60 percent to 6,810.70, after touching a high of 6,829.30. The broader All Ordinaries Index is rising 41.60 points or 0.59 percent to 7,092.60.
Tech stocks are notably higher after their U.S. peers gained overnight. Afterpay is rising almost 6 percent, WiseTech Global is advancing almost 5 percent and Appen is edging up 0.1 percent.
In the banking sector, National Australia Bank is higher by almost 2 percent, and Westpac is advancing more than 1 percent, while ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are adding almost 1 percent each.
Among the major miners, BHP Group is adding 0.6 percent and Rio Tinto is rising 0.4 percent, while Fortescue Metals is lower by 0.3 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower even as crude oil prices advanced overnight. Oil Search is declining almost 1 percent and Woodside Petroleum is down 0.5 percent, while Santos is adding 0.4 percent.
Gold miners are also higher after gold prices rose overnight. Newcrest Mining is higher by more than 1 percent and Evolution Mining is up 0.6 percent.
In economic news, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 6.6 percent in December. That was below expectations for 6.7 percent and down from 6.8 percent in November.
The Australian economy added 50,000 jobs last month, in line with expectations following the addition of 90,000 jobs in the previous month.
Australia will also see January's inflation forecast from TD Securities today.
On Wall Street, stocks closed at new record highs on Wednesday on upbeat corporate earnings results and as former Vice President Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. Biden has called for additional stimulus and an accelerated coronavirus vaccine rollout, which has helped offset concerns about higher taxes and increased regulation under a Democratic administration.
The Dow advanced 257.86 points or 0.8 percent to 31,188.38, the Nasdaq soared 260.07 points or 2 percent to 13,457.25 and the S&P 500 jumped 52.94 points or 1.4 percent to 3,851.85.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on Wednesday. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday amid hopes the Joe Biden administration will step up stimulus to boost growth, which in turn will result in increased demand for energy. WTI crude for February ended up $0.26 or about 0.5 percent at $53.24 a barrel on expiration day. WTI crude futures new front-month contract for March settled at $53.31 a barrel, gaining $0.33 or about 0.6 percent for the session.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis