Australian Market Modestly Lower

The Australian market is trading modestly lower on Thursday, adding to the losses in the previous two sessions following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 9,000 mark, with weakness in iron ore miners, financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in gold miners and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 24.40 points or 0.27 percent to 9,005.60, after hitting a low of 8,986.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 22.40 points or 0.24 percent to 9,298.70. Australian stocks ended notably lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is down more than 1 percent, BHP Group is losing more than 2 percent and Mineral Resources is edging down 0.4 percent, while Fortescue is edging up 0.3 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is gaining almost 2 percent, Origin Energy is up almost 1 percent, Santos is adding more than 1 percent and Woodside Energy is advancing more than 3 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Xero are losing more than 2 percent each, while Appen is down almost 1 percent, Zip is slipping more than 3 percent and WiseTech Global is falling more than 1 percent.

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

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are advancing almost 3 percent each, Newmont is adding almost 1 percent, Resolute Mining is up almost 2 percent and Genesis Minerals is gaining more than 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.649 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday following the lackluster performance seen during Tuesday’s session. The major averages all moved to the downside on the day, with the Dow pulling back off yesterday’s record closing high.

The major averages climbed well off their worst levels in late-day trading but remained firmly negative. The Nasdaq slumped 213.67 points or 0.9 percent to 22,740.40, the Dow slid 334.33 points or 0.7 percent to 46,590.41 and the S&P 500 fell 35.95 points or 0.5 percent to 6,699.40.

Meanwhile, the major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index advanced 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 Index fell 0.6 percent and the German DAX Index declined by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday on news that the proposed U.S.-Russia summit to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war has been shelved. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was up $1.28 or 2.24 percent at $58.52 per barrel.

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