(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market was trading higher Friday on bargain hunting following Thursday’s 7% plunge. Wall Street’s triple-digit gains overnight also added to the positive sentiment. However, falling commodities prices and lingering global recession fears limited the gains in the key resources sector.

At 9:03 p.m. ET, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 17 points or 0.42% at 4,030, after closing down 6.67% on Thursday. The broader All Ordinaries index was gaining 15 points or 0.39% to 4,004.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened 3.9% higher on Friday. The Aussie opened at US$0.6913-0.6916, up from Thursday’s close of US$0.6650-0.6658.

On Wall Street, the U.S. stock markets experienced substantial volatility on Thursday, while traders digested a slew of economic data. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line over the course of the session, eventually ending the day sharply higher. The Dow closed up 401 points or 4.68% at 8,979, the Nasdaq rose 89 points or 5.49% to close at 1,718, and the S&P 500 gained 39 points or 4.25% to finish at 946.

On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released its international trade price indices for the September quarter. Import Price Index increased 5.0% on quarter and 9.6% for the 12-months through September. Australia’s Export Price Index increased 13.3% on and 32.9% for the year through September.

The Melbourne Institute is also scheduled to release its October bulletin of economic trends for the next four quarters.

Among banking stocks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia lost 0.97%, National Australia Bank was down 2.07%, and ANZ Banking Group edged down 0.46%. Westpac and investment bank Macquarie Group were unchanged, while St. George bank was up 0.55%.

In the resources sector, index leader BHP Billiton edged up 0.31% and Rio Tinto added 0.76%. Gold miners were weaker, after gold closed lower, for a sixth straight session, on Thursday. Lihir Gold fell 5.05%, and Newcrest Mining dropped 3.67%.

On Thursday, crude oil futures for November delivery closed lower, falling below the key $70 a barrel mark for the first time since August 2007, as a larger-than-expected build in crude oil inventories further illustrated the decline in demand amid the global credit crisis. Oil has plunged 53% since peaking at $147.27 on July 11. With prices continuing to plunge, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has advanced its extraordinary meeting in Vienna to October 24, from original date of November 18. The decline accelerated after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude stocks rose by 5.6 million barrels last week.

Oil closed down $4.69 at $69.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after hitting an intraday low of $68.57. In the Asian session Friday, crude was up $3.09 at $72.94 in electronic trading.

Among energy stocks, Woodside added 0.73%, and Oil Search gained 1.99%, while Santos fell 2.11%.

In the retail sector, David Jones gained 3.40%, and giant retailer Woolworths added 1.58%, while Coles’ owner Wesfarmers dropped 0.94%.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Copyright(c) 2008 RealTimeTraders.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Posted in Categories: Australia, Releases, Stocks, USA.

Subscribe by RSS Subscribe by Email