Australian Market Slightly Higher

The Australian stock market is slightly higher in choppy trading on Thursday, extending the gains of the previous four sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 just below the 7,100 mark, following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street. Traders are concerned as the country's second-most populous state braces for a 7-day lockdown from midnight as a cluster of COVID-19 cases grew in Victoria.