Tracking positive cues from Wall Street, the Australian market is trading modestly higher on Monday with investors picking up select blue chip stocks from across various sectors. After a bright start, the market lost its way for a while before recovering swiftly on the back of some strong buying at lower levels at a few counters.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is currently trading at 4,554, up 12.8 points or 0.3% over its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is up 17.4 points or 0.4% at 4,595.
On Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 closed up 8 points or 0.2% at 4,541, while the All Ordinaries index surged 15 points or 0.3% to 4,578.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Westpac are up 0.6%-0.9%. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland are both up by about 1%.
Macquarie Group Ltd is down as much as 4.3% after it forecast that first half profit will fall 25% because conditions in most markets have been weak. A 25% decline in profit for the six months ending September 30 would take the figure to about A$359 million, compared with the A$479 million recorded in the prior corresponding period.
In the mining space, BHP Billiton is trading flat, Rio Tinto is down 0.6% and Newcrest Mining is losing over 1%, while Fortescue Metals is gaining over 2%.
Among energy stocks, Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Origin Energy are up marginally, while Santos is down modestly.
Insurance Australia Group Ltd expects claims from the New Zealand earthquake to be "entirely covered" by reinsurance arrangements and reaffirmed earnings guidance for the current year. The insurer added, in a statement on Monday, that it was too early to tell how much damage had been caused by the magnitude 7.1 earthquake which struck Christchurch over the weekend. At IAG's full year results presentation last month, the insurer said its insurance margin, a key driver of profit, was expected to be between 10.5% and 12.5% in 2010-2011, while gross written premium was would grow by 3%-5%. The stock is currently down with a loss of 0.5%.
Brambles Ltd says subsidiary CHEP Automotive has secured the tender to provide pooling services to GM Europe until July 2016. The contract includes about 12.2 million product movements across Europe annually. The Brambles stock is trading modestly higher at present.
In economic news, Australian businesses are confident about the economic outlook, with job advertisements rising 2.6% in August and 36% on a year ago, a survey shows. The ANZ job advertisement series shows the total number of job ads placed in major metropolitan newspapers and on the Internet rose in August to an average of 176,239 a week. This follows a 1.4% rise in July.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened notably higher on better-than-expected US jobs figures. In early trades, the Aussie was quoting at US$0.9153-US$0.9159, up from Friday's close of US$0.9080-US$0.9084. The Australian dollar is currently trading at 0.9151 to the U.S. dollar.
On Wall Street, stocks rallied to their best closing levels in three weeks ahead of the Labor Day weekend on Friday, as a softer than forecast drop in August jobs helped to alleviate some fears of a double-dip recession.
The major averages ended near their highs for the session. The Dow jumped by 127.8 points or 1.2% to 10,447.9, the Nasdaq advanced by 33.7 points or 1.5% to 2,233.8 and the S&P 500 ended up 14.4 points or 1.3% at 1,104.5.
Major European markets closed notably higher on Friday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and the French CAC 40 Index both gained 1.1%, while the German DAX index ended up 0.8%.
Crude oil prices declined on Friday. Light sweet crude for October delivery ended down 42 cents at US$74.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.