The Australian stock market is trading firm on Thursday with investors indulging in some hectic buying across the board, following the cues from Wall Street where stocks ended on a strong note overnight amid encouraging economic reports. Mining, energy, information technology and industrial stocks are mostly trading notably higher. Property trusts, consumer discretionary and financial stocks are also trading firm.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which rose to 4,284.8, is currently trading at 4,268, up 42.3 points or 1 percent over its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is up 42.2 points or 1 percent at 4,333.2, off an early high of 4,349.
Among top miners, BHP Billiton is up 1.7 percent, Rio Tinto is gaining about 2.7 percent, Fortescue Metals is trading 2 percent up and Newcrest Mining is trading higher by 1.8 percent.
In the energy sector, Santos is up 2.7 percent, Origin Energy is gaining 2.2 percent and Woodside Petroleum is up 0.5 percent, while Oil Search and Caltex Australia are down marginally.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank are up 0.7 to 1.2 percent, while Westpac is trading 0.4 percent higher. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank is up 0.5 percent and Bank of Queensland is trading lower by 0.3 percent.
Lynas Corporation is up nearly 17 percent. Aquarius Platinum, James Hardie Industries, Perseus Mining, Goodman Fielder and AGL Energy are up 4 to 5.6 percent.
Boral, Boart Longyear, Computershare, UGL, Lend Lease Group, Qantas Airways, Leighton Holdings, Orica and Panaust are trading higher by 2.3 to 4 percent.
On the economic front, Australia saw a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of A$1.709 billion in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. That was well above forecasts for a surplus of A$1.200 billion following the downwardly revised surplus of A$1.343 billion in November. The original November read was for a surplus of A$1.38 billion.
Exports climbed 2 percent on month to A$27.79 billion from A$27.171 billion in the previous month. Imports added 1.0 percent on month to A$26.082 billion from A$25.829 billion a month earlier.
According to another report from the same bureau, Australian residential building approvals fell 1.0 percent to 11,443 units in December. This compares to an upwardly revised 11,558 units in November, seasonally adjusted. In the year to December, building approvals were down 24.5 percent, the data revealed.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar hit a three-month high on the back of buoyant economic reports from Europe and China. In early trades, the Aussie was quoting at US$1.0697, up 0.8 percent from Wednesday's close of US$1.0613.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are trading notably higher. New Zealand and Singapore are also trading firm. Markets across the region turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed with notable gains on Wednesday with reacting positively to the latest batch of economic data.
The major averages ended the session off their best levels of the day but still closed firmly in positive territory. The Dow rose 83.6 points or 0.7 percent to 12,716.5, the Nasdaq jumped 34.4 points or 1.2 percent to 2,848.3 and the S&P 500 advanced 11.7 points or 0.9 percent to 1,324.1.
Major European markets too ended on a firm note on Wednesday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index jumped by 1.9 percent, while the French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index gained 2.1 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil futures ended at a six-week low Wednesday, mostly on the EIA data that showed an increase in U.S. oil inventories last week, notwithstanding a weak dollar and some upbeat data from China, Europe and the U.S. Light sweet crude for March delivery dipped $0.87 or 0.9 percent to settle at $97.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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Market Analysis
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.