The Australian market ended Thursday's trading session in positive territory, following strong cues from Wall Street where the major averages rallied strongly on the first trading day for September lifted by better than expected economic data related to manufacturing index. A slew of economic data across the world lifted market sentiment raising hopes of sustaining global economic recovery and lend support to the markets. Broad-based buying interest in all sectors lifted the domestic market for the second successive day.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index gained 37.00 points, or 0.82%, and closed at 4,533 points, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,563, representing a gain of 36.20 points, or 0.80%.
On the economic front, a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that the country's trade surplus for July unexpected compared to the previous month, largely due to lower exports of commodities such as coal, iron ore and non-monetary gold. The trade balance showed a surplus of A$1.9 billion in July compared to the A$3.4 billion surplus in the previous month. Economists were looking for a surplus of about A$3.1 billion. Exports of goods and services fell 4% in July compared to A$25.4 billion. The decrease was largely due to a 6% fall in exports of non-rural goods. Imports, on the other hand, were up 2% from the previous month to A$23.5 billion. Imports of intermediate goods climbed 9%, and those of consumption goods rose 1%.
Light sweet crude oil futures for October delivery ended at $73.82 a barrel in electronic trading, down $0.09 per barrel from previous close at $73.91 a barrel in New York on Wednesday.
Banking stocks ended in positive territory on optimism about global economic recovery. ANZ Bank gained 1.25%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 1.19%, National Australia Bank advanced 1.09% and Westpac Banking climbed 1.39%. However, investment banking company Macquarie Group bucked the trend and ended in negative territory with a loss of 1.06%.
Mining and metal stocks also ended higher. BHP Billiton added 1.08%, Rio Tinto advanced 1.25%, Gindalbie Metals gained 1.65%, Iluka Resources rose 1.06%, Macarthur Coal increased by 1.47%, Mincor Resources edged up 0.56%, Murchison Metals soared 8.19% and Oz Minerals climbed 2.45%.
Mixed trading was witnessed among energy-related stocks. Woodside Petroleum advanced 0.77% and Oil Search added 0.17%. However, Santos Ltd ended in negative territory with a loss of 1.61% and Origin Energy slipped 0.13%.
In the U.S., stocks saw substantial gains to open the traditionally downward trending month of September on Wednesday, as data showing a pickup in manufacturing activity in both the U.S. and China recharged some hopes of a continued economic recovery. The rally was further fueled by a better than expected reading on resource-linked Australian GDP. The major averages saw further upside in late-session dealing, ending near their best levels of the day. The Dow shot up by 254.75 points or 2.5% to 10,269, the Nasdaq surged by 62.81 points or 3% to 2,177 and the S&P 500 advanced by 30.96 points or 3% to 1,080.
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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.