The Australian market is trading slightly lower on Thursday, snapping a three session winning streak, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying below the 8,850 level, with weakness in iron ore miners and a mixed performance across all other sectors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 8.40 points or 0.10 percent to 8,835.30, after hitting a low of 8,831.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 8.90 points or 0.10 percent to 9,102.20. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Wednesday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Fortescue is losing almost 1 percent. BHP Group is flat.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is gaining more than 1 percent, while Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each. Santos is losing almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block, Xero and WiseTech Global are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Appen is edging down 0.5 percent and Zip is losing more than 1 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while National Australia Bank and Westpac are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each.
Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources is advancing almost 2 percent, Newmont is adding almost 1 percent and Evolution Mining is edging up 0.4 percent, while Gold Road Resources is edging down 0.2 percent and Resolute Mining is losing more than 1 percent.
In other news, shares in ASX are tumbling almost 8 percent after Treasurer Jim Chalmers indicated he would seek to end its monopoly, and after the embattled market operator said it will book between $25 million and $35 million in additional operating expenses in the 2025-26 financial year amid an ongoing ASIC compliance inquiry.
Shares in Westgold Resources are soaring almost 6 percent after announcing it expects higher gold production between 345,000 and 385,000 ounces in fiscal 2026.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.650 on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks saw further upside over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after moving mostly higher early in the session. The major averages all moved to the upside on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the charge.
The Nasdaq jumped 252.87 points or 1.2 percent to 21,169.42 and the S&P 500 climbed 45.87 points or 0.7 percent to 6,345.06. The narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, rising 81.38 points or 0.2 percent to 44,193.12.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index both closed up by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil lost early gains on Wednesday as Russia faces a threat of U.S. sanctions on its oil exports after August 8 if it fails to end its attempt to annex Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $0.96 or 1.47 percent at $64.20 per barrel.
Market Analysis
Australian Market Slightly Lower
2025-08-07 01:15:10
