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The Australian stock market is extending its early gains in mid-market trading on Tuesday, adding to the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P\/ASX 200 index is moving well above the 8,700 level, with gains in mining and technology<\/span> stocks partially offset by weakness in energy stocks.<\/p>\n The benchmark S&P\/ASX 200 Index is gaining 55.20 points or 0.64 percent to 8,741.60, after touching a high of 8,753.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 50.70 points or 0.57 percent to 8,909.90. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Monday.<\/p>\n Among the major miners, Rio Tinto and BHP Group are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is advancing almost 3 percent and Fortescue is adding almost 2 percent.<\/p>\n Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy and Santos are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Woodside Energy is losing almost 1 percent. Origin Energy is gaining more than 1 percent.<\/p>\n Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 3 percent, Xero is adding more than 1 percent and Zip is up almost 1 percent, while WiseTech Global is losing almost 2 percent and Appen is edging down 0.4 percent.<\/p>\n Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining and Genesis Minerals are advancing almost 2 percent each. Newmont is edging up 0.2 percent.<\/p>\n Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are edging down 0.1 percent each, while National Australia Bank is gaining almost 1 percent and Westpac is edging up 0.3 percent.<\/p>\n In economic news, Australia’s Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index fell 4.7 percent on month to a six-month low of 80.4 in October 2026, slowing from a 5.2 percent decline in the prior month while marking a second straight month of decline.<\/p>\n Australia’s ANZ-Indeed Job Ads rose 2.2 percent on month in September 2026, slowing from a marginally revised 2.6 percent gain in the previous month despite marking the third straight month of expansion.<\/p>\n In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.697 on Tuesday. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n