The Australian stock market is trading marginally higher on Friday, tracking the mixed overnight cues from Wall Street and Europe. Concerns about the risk of rising oil prices also weighed on investor sentiment.
Banks and consumer discretionary stocks are trading higher, while energy stocks are trading in negative territory. Mining stocks are trading mixed. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 10 points or 0.23 percent to 4,296.20, while the broader All Ordinaries Index is up 11 points or 0.25 percent to 4,378.50.
On Thursday, the Australian market closed slightly lower as companies reported mixed earnings and uncertainty about the stability of the Australian political scene undermined appetite for risk. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent, while the broader All Ordinaries index edged down 0.1 percent.
In the mining sector, BHP Billiton is currently adding 0.41 percent and Rio Tinto is advancing 0.53 percent. However, Iluka Resources is losing 1.54 percent. The company said on Thursday that it expects to post lower zircon and rutile production in 2012. Newcrest Mining is down 3.93 percent.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Bank is up 0.27 percent, Commonwealth Bank is adding 0.36 percent, National Australia Bank is gaining 1.12 percent and Westpac is up 0.48 percent. Investment bank Macquarie Group is gaining 0.82 percent.
Insurance Australia Group shares are up 5.73 percent. The insurer said Thursday that it is on track to meet its full-year forecast.
Casino group Echo Entertainment Group, which was spun off from Tabcorp in June 2011, reported a first-half net profit of A$70.2 million. The company's shares are gaining 5 percent.
In the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum is down 0.97 percent, Oil Search is losing 1.41 percent and Origin Energy is down 0.28 percent.
Utility company AGL Energy reported a 51 percent fall in profit for the first half of the year to A$117 million. The company's stock is down more than 3 percent.
On the economic front, the Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens said interest rates are about where the central bank wants them, even after taking into account the decision by the retail banks to lift lending rates independently in February.
In his introductory statement before the House of Representatives economics committee hearing in Sydney, Stevens said that underlying inflation was about 2.5 percent over 2011, slightly lower than the bank thought it would be.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar was trading higher against the U.S. dollar on the back of optimistic business data from Germany, and commentary from the Australian reserve bank.
The Australian dollar is currently trading at US$1.0746, up from US$1.0647 at close on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved higher over the course of the trading day on Thursday with upbeat jobs data overshadowing some disappointing earnings news. The major averages recovered from early weakness, but the Dow was unable to cross the 13,000 level.
The Dow rose 46.02 points or 0.4 percent to 12,984.69, the Nasdaq jumped 23.81 points or 0.8 percent to 2,956.98 and the S&P 500 climbed 5.80 points or 0.4 percent to 1,363.46.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index closed nearly flat and the German DAX Index fell by 0.5 percent.
U.S. crude oil futures closed at a near ten-month high Thursday, mostly on supply concerns and a weak dollar, notwithstanding a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. oil inventories.
Light sweet crude for April delivery, rose $1.55 or 1.5 percent to close at $107.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.