The Australian stock market is trading marginally higher amid selective buying on Wednesday. Though Wall Street ended higher overnight, gains were just modest amid a lack of fresh triggers.
In the Australian market, mining stocks are mostly trading notably higher. Healthcare, energy, information technology, financial and industrial stocks are finding modest support, while property trusts stocks are trading weak.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which advanced to 5,203.4 in early trades, is currently up 4.6 points at 5,184.7. The broader All Ordinaries index is up 3.3 points at 5,159.5, off an early high of 5,178.9.
In the mining space, BHP Billiton (BHP) is advancing 1.3 percent, Rio Tinto (RIO) is trading higher by 2 percent and Fortescue Metals is adding 2.2 percent. However, Newcrest Mining is trading in negative territory, losing about 1.4 percent.
In the energy sector, Oil Search, Origin Energy and Caltex Australia are adding 0.8 to 1.2 percent. Santos is up marginally, while Woodside Petroleum is trading lower by 0.4 percent.
Among bank stocks, ANZ Bank is down 0.3 percent and Westpac (WBK) is trading lower by 0.7 percent, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank are trading flat. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland are trading modestly higher.
Downer EDI is up nearly 4 percent. Iluka Resources is adding 3.2 percent and Aurora Oil & Gas is up 2.8 percent. Orica, WorleyParsons and Lynas Corp. are trading higher by 1.7 to 2 percent.
Perseus Mining is down almost 4 percent. Monadelphous Group is down with a loss of 3.7 percent. Duet Group, Mirvac Group, Qantas Airways, Stockland and Regis Resources are down 2 to 3 percent.
Seven West Media is trading lower by more than 8 percent on reports that U.S.-based private equity firm KKR will sell its entire 12 percent stake in the company. The announcement was made after trading hours on Tuesday.
Myer Holdings shares are down 2.2 percent. Despite a slight rise in sales, Myers Holdings remains cautious about the future for the retail industry. Myer's total sales in the 13 weeks to April 27 were up 0.5 percent from the year-ago period to A$652.5 million. Like-for-like sales, which strip out the effects of new store openings or closures, were up 0.4 percent from the previous corresponding period.
CFS Retail Property Trust and Dexus Property Group are also trading sharply lower.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened marginally lower against the U.S. dollar. In early trades, the Aussie was quoting at US$0.9807, down from Tuesday's close of US$0.9817.
On Wall Street, stocks moved modestly higher on Tuesday, although buying interest was somewhat subdued.
The major averages gave back some ground in late-day trading but remained in positive territory. The Dow ended the day up 52.3 points or 0.3 percent to 15,387.6, a new closing high. The S&P 500, which too hit a new closing high, settled at 1,669.2, gaining 2.9 points or 0.2 percent, while the Nasdq moved up 5.7 points or 0.2 percent to 3,502.1.
Major European markets too ended higher on Tuesday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index advanced by 0.7 percent, while the French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index edged up by 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil snapped a four-day winning streak to end lower on Tuesday, ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee policy meet outcome, even as the dollar strengthened against a basket of major currencies. Crude for July delivery ended down $0.75 or 0.8 percent at $96.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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