The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Tuesday, reversing losses of the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 just below the 7,000 mark, despite the weak cues overnight from Wall Street. The market is supported by gains in materials, financials, gold miners and technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 10.20 points or 0.15 percent to 6,984.20, after touching a high of 6,996.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 11.20 points or 0.16 percent to 7,236.40. Australian closed lower on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group, Rio Tinto and OZ Minerals are edging down 0.5 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.2 percent.
Among oil stocks, Oil Search and Origin Energy are losing almost 1 percent each, while Santos and Woodside Petroleum are edging down 0.3 percent each.
Among the big four banks, Westpac, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.2 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is gaining almost 1 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay is gaining almost 2 percent, Appen in adding almost 1 percent and WiseTech Global is up more than 2 percent.
Gold miners are higher, with Newcrest Mining and Evolution Mining edging up 0.5 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is gaining more than 2 percent.
In economic news, National Australia Bank will release March numbers for business confidence and the Housing Industry Association will release new home sales numbers for March. In February, the NAB index had a score of +16, while home sales jumped 22.9 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.761 on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks ended lower on Monday with investors largely making cautious moves as they looked ahead to earnings season and the release of some crucial economic data this week. A lack of fresh triggers after the market rose to record highs last week contributed as well to the somewhat sluggish movements in the market.
The major averages all ended in negative territory although the downside was not any significantly pronounced. The Dow ended down 55.20 points or 0.16 percent at 33,745.40. The S&P 500 edged down 0.81 points or 0.02 percent to settle at 4,127.99 and the tech-laden Nasdaq settled lower by 50.19 points or 0.36 percent at 13,850.00.
Meanwhile, the major European markets also closed lower on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 0.39% down, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 both ended lower by 0.13%.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Monday as progress in coronavirus vaccination rollout and reports about an attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities helped lift oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended up $0.38 or 0.6 percent at $59.70 a barrel.
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