(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is extending gains on Tuesday from the previous session in the absence of fresh cues overnight from Wall Street, which was closed for a holiday, and as European markets closed higher amid optimism about coronavirus vaccines. Stocks are rising across the board.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 56.80 points or 0.96 percent to 6,001.60, after rising to a high of 6,007.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is rising 58.50 points or 0.95 percent to 6,188.40. Australian shares recovered after a weak start to close modestly higher on Monday.
Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals is rising almost 3 percent, Rio Tinto is advancing more than 1 percent and BHP Group is adding almost 1 percent.
Gold miners are also higher. Evolution Mining is adding more than 1 percent and Newcrest Mining is up almost 1 percent.
In the banking space, Westpac and National Australia Bank are rising more than 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are adding almost 1 percent each.
Among oil stocks, Santos, Woodside Petroleum and Oil Search are higher by more than 1 percent each.
In the tech sector, Appen and WiseTech Global are rising more than 1 percent each, while Afterpay is adding 0.6 percent.
The U.S. markets were closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
European markets rallied sharply on Monday amid optimism about coronavirus vaccines and reports showing a significant improvement in Eurozone investor confidence in September. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 2.4 percent, Germany's DAX surged up 2.0 percent and France's CAC 40 ended up 1.8 percent.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
