The Australian market is trading notably lower on Thursday, reversing the gains in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,800 level, with weakness across most sectors led by in mining and energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 49.10 points or 0.56 percent to 8,782.20, after hitting a low of 8,773.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 49.10 points or 0.55 percent to 8,907.50. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Wednesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group is down more than 1 percent, while Fortescue, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are declining almost 2 percent each.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is slipping almost 4 percent, Beach energy is losing more than 3 percent, Origin Energy is edging down 0.5 percent and Santos is down more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block, Xero and Zip are losing almost 1 percent each, while WiseTech Global is gaining almost 2 percent and Appen is edging up 0.2 percent.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is edging up 0.5 percent, while Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is edging down 0.2 percent, Genesis Minerals is losing almost 2 percent and Resolute Mining is down almost 1 percent, while Newmont and Northern Star Resources are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each.
In other news, shares in Nick Scali are plunging more than 17 percent after the retailer warned of a sharp fall in profit for the December half amid challenging retail conditions.
Shares in NextDC are surging almost 9 percent after plummeting more than 40 percent on Wednesday as it was forced to slash guidance.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.703 on Thursday.
On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after fluctuating early in the session. The major averages all moved to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a notable advance.
The major averages saw some volatility late in the session but closed firmly in positive territory. The Nasdaq jumped 278.04 points or 1.1 percent to 26,702.86, the Dow climbed 360.21 points or 0.7 percent to 52,856.09 and the S&P 500 rose 44.60 points or 0.6 percent to 7,757.17.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index shot up by 1.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index posted a more modest gain, inching up 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices edged lower Wednesday on reports of progress in Strait of Hormuz shipping traffic. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was down by $0.69 or 0.71 percent at $97.13 per barrel.
Market Analysis
Australian Market Notably Lower
2026-10-22 01:01:40
