Australian Market Extends Early Losses In Mid-market

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is extending its early losses in mid-market trading on Wednesday, adding to the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling to near the 8,100 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness across most sectors led by financial and energy stocks. Traders were reacting to the beginning of the trade war between the U.S. and its major trading partners. The U.S. imposed tariffs by U.S. on Canada, Mexico and China, with China and Canada putting in place retaliatory measures in the form of tariffs.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 96.20 points or 1.17 percent to 8,101.90, after hitting a low of 8,096.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 98.30 points or 1.17 percent to 8,322.60. Australian stocks ended notably lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Mineral Resources is declining more than 3 percent and Fortescue Metals is losing more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is down more than 1 percent and Santos is declining almost 2 percent, while Beach energy and Origin Energy are losing almost 1 percent each.

In the tech space, Appen is advancing more than 6 percent and WiseTech Global is gaining almost 1 percent, while Xero is losing almost 2 percent, Zip is declining almost 4 percent and Afterpay owner Block is slipping almost 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are losing almost 2 percent each, while National Australia Bank is down more than 2 percent and ANZ Banking is declining more than 1 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Gold Road Resources are edging down 0.2 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is declining almost 3 percent. Resolute Mining is advancing almost 5 percent and Newmont is edging up 0.1 percent.

In economic news, Australia's economy grew by 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter, accelerating from a 0.3 percent expansion in the previous quarter and surpassing market expectations of 0.5 percent.

The S&P Global Australia Services PMI Business Activity Index fell to 50.8 in February, down from 51.2 in January, signaling continued growth in business activity for the thirteenth month, though at a slower pace.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.625 on Wednesday.