(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is significantly higher on Monday, recouping the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,400 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday, with strength i materials and energy stocks. Meanwhile, concern that the omicron variant will set back the fight against COVID-19 is weighing on the market.
New South Wales reported 536 new cases on Sunday, with nine new Omicron cases. Victoria also reported 1,290 new cases and two deaths, with no Omicron cases. Meanwhile, Queensland borders open up to Victoria and New South Wales after months of closure.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 61.70 points or 0.84 percent to 7,415.20, after touching a high of 7,417.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 62.10 points or 0.81 percent to 7,730.00. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Friday.
Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 2 percent, Fortescue Metals is adding more than 1 percent and BHP Group is advancing more than 2 percent, while Mineral Resources and OZ Minerals are up almost 1 percent each. Oil stocks are higher, with Woodside Petroleum gaining almost 2 percent, Origin Energy up almost 1 percent, Santos adding more than 1 percent and Beach energy advancing almost 3 percent. Among tech stocks, Appen and WiseTech Global are gaining almost 3 percent each, while Afterpay and Xero are edging down 0.4 percent each. Gold miners are higher. Evolution Mining is gaining 1.5 percent and Newcrest Mining is edging up 0.3 percent, while Gold Road Resources is edging down 0.3 percent. Resolute Mining and Northern Star Resources are flat.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is gaining more than 1 percent and Westpac is edging up 0.3 percent, while ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are adding almost 1 percent each.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.717 on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved back to the upside during trading on Friday following the pullback seen in the previous session. The major averages fluctuated in morning trading but climbed more firmly into positive territory in the afternoon.
The major averages moved higher going into the close, with the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching new highs for the session. The Dow rose 216.30 points or 0.6 percent at 35,970.99, the Nasdaq climbed 113.23 points or 0.7 percent to 15,630.60 and the S&P 500 jumped 44.57 points or 1 percent to 4,712.02.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside over the course of the session. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index edged down by 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.
Crude oil futures settled higher Friday on easing worries about the Omicron coronavirus variant's impact on global economic growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $0.73 or 1 percent at $71.67 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained 8.2 percent in the week, the best weekly returns since end August.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
