(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is extending gains on Thursday from the previous session after Wall Street closed at record highs overnight amid optimism about an economic recovery from the coronavirus-induced slowdown. Investors shrugged off data showing that Australia's construction sector continued to contract in August.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 39.80 points or 0.66 percent to 6,103.00, after rising to a high of 6,117.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 39.70 points or 0.64 percent to 6,291.50. Australian stocks closed higher on Wednesday.
In the banking space, Westpac, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are higher in a range of 1.3 percent to 1.5 percent, while Commonwealth Bank is adding almost 1 percent.
In the tech sector, Afterpay is rising 0.6 percent and Appen is adding 0.3 percent, while WiseTech Global is losing almost 3 percent.
Among the major miners, BHP Group is declining more than 2 percent and Fortescue Metals is down 0.1 percent, while Rio Tinto is edging up 0.1 percent.
Oil stocks are also mostly lower after crude oil prices fell overnight. Santos and Oil Search are declining more than 1 percent each, while Woodside Petroleum is lower by 0.4 percent.
Gold miners are weak after gold prices declined sharply overnight. Evolution Mining is lower by more than 1 percent and Newcrest Mining is losing almost 1 percent.
In economic news, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed that the construction sector in Australia continued to contract in August, and at a faster pace, with a Performance of Construction Index score of 37.9. That's down from 42.7 and it moves farther beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
Australia will also release July numbers for imports, exports and trade balance today.
On Wall Street, stocks closed sharply higher on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session as traders continue to express optimism about the economy recovering from the coronavirus-induced slowdown, although some analysts have suggested the markets may be getting ahead of themselves. Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from payroll processor ADP showing much weaker than expected private sector job growth in the month of August.
The Dow spiked 454.84 points or 1.6 percent to 29,100.50, the Nasdaq jumped 116.78 points or 1 percent to 12,056.44 and the S&P 500 surged up 54.19 points or 1.5 percent to 3,580.84.
The major European markets all moved sharply higher on Wednesday. While the German DAX Index spiked by 2.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index surged up by 1.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.4 percent.
Crude oil futures settled sharply lower on Wednesday despite a steep drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, as worries about a drop in gasoline demand and data showing a surge in oil production by OPEC members weighed on prices. WTI crude for October delivery slumped $1.25 or about 2.9 percent to $41.51 a barrel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
