The Australian stock market recovered after a weak start on Tuesday following the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street and is advancing, reflecting gains by gold miners and banks. Nevertheless, investors remained cautious over surging coronavirus cases and U.S. stimulus talks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is advancing 14.50 points or 0.22 percent to 6,689.50, after rising to a high of 6,692.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is adding 17.10 points or 0.25 percent to 6,926.00. Australian stocks rose to a more than nine-month high on Monday.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are higher in a range of 0.1 percent to 0.6 percent, while Westpac is down 0.5 percent.
Gold miners are also higher after safe-haven gold prices gained overnight. Evolution Mining and Newcrest Mining are rising almost 2 percent each.
Meanwhile, among the major miners, Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto are lower by almost 1 percent each, while BHP Group is edging down 0.1 percent.
Oil stocks are also declining after crude oil prices slipped overnight. Oil Search is losing almost 2 percent, while Santos and Woodside Petroleum are lower by more than 1 percent each.
In economic news, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Australia house price index climbed 0.8 percent on quarter in the third quarter of 2020, after sinking 1.8 percent in the three months prior. The total value of residential dwellings in Australia rose A$87.8 billion to A$7,283.3 billion in the third quarter, while the mean price of residential dwellings rose A$5,400 to A$689,500.
On Wall Street, stocks closed mixed on Monday as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves after the major averages reached record closing highs last Friday. Traders seemed to be waiting for further developments regarding a potential stimulus bill before making any substantial bets. A quiet day on the U.S. economic front also kept traders on the sidelines, although the Federal Reserve did release its consumer credit report later in the day.
While the Nasdaq rose 55.71 points or 0.5 percent to 12,519.95, the Dow fell 148.47 points or 0.5 percent to 30,069.79 and the S&P 500 dipped 7.16 points or 0.2 percent to 3,691.96.
The major European also ended mixed on Monday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.6 percent.
Crude oil prices retreated on Monday as rising Covid-19 cases prompted more lockdowns around the world, threatening a global economic recovery. WTI crude for January delivery fell $0.45 or 0.99 percent to $45.66 a barrel.
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