Australian Market Extends Gains

The Australian stock market is extending gains on Wednesday from the previous session following the mostly positive cues overnight from Wall Street after the S&P 500 Index rose to an all-time high. Upbeat earnings results from local companies helped boost sentiment.

Investors also digested news that the Australian government has entered into a deal with UK-based drug maker AstraZeneca for the supply of a coronavirus vaccine to Australia.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is advancing 26.30 points or 0.43 percent to 6,149.70, after touching a high of 6,154.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is adding 29.60 points or 0.47 percent to 6,298.30. Australian stocks closed higher on Tuesday.

The big four banks are higher. ANZ Banking is rising more than 1 percent and Commonwealth Bank is higher by almost 1 percent, while Westpac and National Australia Bank are up 0.3 percent each.

ANZ Banking reported a statutory profit of A$1.3 billion for the third quarter and said it will pay an interim dividend to shareholders.

Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto are advancing more than 1 percent each, while BHP Group is down 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, gold miners are weak even as gold prices rose overnight. Newcrest Mining is declining more than 1 percent and Evolution Mining is down almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are also declining after crude oil prices dipped overnight. Oil Search is losing more than 2 percent, while Santos and Woodside Petroleum are lower by almost 1 percent each.

CSL reported a more than 9 percent increase in full-year profit to more than $2.0 billion on higher revenues and said it is continuing to work with the University of Queensland on a coronavirus vaccine. The biotech giant's shares are gaining almost 6 percent.

On the economic front, Australia will see July results for the leading economic index from Westpac Bank today.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday. The local unit was quoted at $0.7242, up from Tuesday's close of $0.7210.

On Wall Street, stocks closed mixed on Tuesday. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 shook off early weakness and finished firmly in the green, while the Dow languished in negative territory. Boeing and financials continued to weigh the Dow, while tech shares supported the Nasdaq. Traders were generally in a holding pattern ahead of tomorrow's release of minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting, which may provide clues to future moves.

The Dow fell 66.84 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 27,778.07, while the Nasdaq jumped 81.12 points or 0.73 percent to end at 11,210.84 and the S&P 500 rose 7.79 points or 0.23 percent to close at a record high of 3,389.78.

The major European stock markets closed modestly lower on Tuesday. Germany's DAX slipped 38.90 points or 0.30 percent to 12,881.76, while UK's FTSE sank 50.82 points or 0.83 percent to 6,076.62 and the CAC 40 in France fell 33.88 points or 0.68 percent to 4,938.06.

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday as the rising number of coronavirus cases around the world threatened to jeopardize a recovery in fuel demand. WTI crude declined $0.16 or 0.38 percent at $42.57 per barrel.