(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is significantly higher on Monday, recouping the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,100 level, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, with gains in financial stocks partially offset by weakness in technology and commodity stocks.
Traders continue to monitor the lingering geopolitical situation amid the continued escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis and the related sanctions on Russia.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 79.20 points or 1.12 percent to 7,142.80, after touching a high of 7,147.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 78.10 points or 1.06 percent to 7,417.40. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Friday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are flat, while Fortescue Metals is adding 1.5 percent, OZ Minerals is edging up 0.5 percent and Mineral Resources is gaining almost 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mixed, with Beach energy gaining more than 1 percent and Origin Energy is advancing almost 1 percent, while Santos is edging down 0.4 percent and Woodside Petroleum is losing almost 1 percent.
Among tech stocks, Appen is edging down 0.3 percent, Block is slipping almost 3 percent and Xero is losing almost 1 percent, while WiseTech Global is gaining almost 2 percent and Zip is sliding more than 3 percent.
Gold miners are mixed. Gold Road Resources and Newcrest Mining are losing almost 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is adding 1.5 percent and Evolution Mining is advancing almost 2 percent. Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.4 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are gaining almost 2 percent each, while National Australia Bank is adding 1.5 percent and Westpac is up more than 2 percent.
In other news, shares in Virtus Health are surging almost 8 percent after the IVF operator agreed to be bought by UK-based private equity firm CapVest at $8.25 per share after a lengthy takeover battle.
Shares in agribusiness giant Elders are soaring more than 11 percent told shareholders it expects underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the 2022 financial year to be 20 to 30 percent higher than 2021, boosted by excellent weather conditions.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.728 on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks pared gains after opening on a strong note and slipped deeper into the red to eventually close on a very weak note on Friday, with technology stocks suffering sharp losses. The major averages all ended notably lower. The Dow, which climbed to 33,515.61 in early trades, ended with a loss of 229.88 points or 0.69 percent at 32,944.19. The S&P 500 settled lower by 55.21 points or 1.3 percent at 4,204.31, well off the day's high of 4,291.01, and the Nasdaq ended down by 286.15 points or 2.18 percent at 12,843.81.
Meanwhile, the major European markets showed significant moves to the upside on the day. The German DAX surged up 1.38 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.8 percent and France's CAC 40 moved up 0.85 percent. The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.95 percent.
Crude oil prices climbed higher Friday on concerns about disruptions in supply amid uncertainty about any meaningful progress in talks between Russia and Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $3.31 or 3.1 percent at $109.33 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed 5.5 percent in the week.
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