Australian Market Extends Early Gains In Mid-market

The Australian stock market is extending its early gains in mid-market trading on Monday, but reversing some of the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is moving above the 8,700.00 level, with weakness in energy and mining stocks partially offset by gains in financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 39.90 points or 0.46 percent to 8,704.90, after touching a high of 8,709.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 28.60 points or 0.32 percent to 8,874.20. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Fortescue is edging down 0.1 percent and Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent, while Mineral Resources and BHP Group are edging up 0.1 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is losing almost 1 percent and Beach energy is declining almost 2 percent, while Origin Energy and Santos is edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.3 percent, while Appen is gaining more than 1 percent, WiseTech Global is advancing almost 2 percent, Zip is edging up 0.3 percent and Xero is almost 1 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Resolute Mining is down more than 1 percent, Genesis Minerals is losing more than 1 percent and Newmont is edging down 0.2 percent, while Evolution Mining is edging up 0.2 percent. Northern Star Resources is soaring more than 9 percent after rejecting a takeover offer from South African miner Gold Fields.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.1 percent, while ANZ Banking, Westpac and National Australia Bank are gaining almost 1 percent each.

In other news, shares in Karoon Energy are tumbling more than 12 percent after lowering full-year 2026 production guidance following operational setbacks.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.702 on Monday.

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