Australian Market Extends Early Losses In Mid-market

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is extending early losses in mid-market moves on Thursday, snapping a three session winning streak, despite 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 energy stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 18.20 points or 0.21 percent to 8,825.50, after hitting a low of 8,821.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 16.60 points or 0.18 percent to 9,094.50. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto, Fortescue and Mineral Resources are losing almost 1 percent each, while BHP Group is edging down 0.2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy, Beach energy and Origin Energy are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Santos is losing almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is edging up 0.5 percent and WiseTech Global is gaining almost 1 percent, while Appen is declining more than 2 percent, Xero is edging down 0.2 percent and Zip is losing almost 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while National Australia Bank is losing almost 1 percent. ANZ Banking is edging up 0.5 percent each, while each.

Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources is advancing almost 2 percent, Newmont is adding more than 1 percent and Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent, while Gold Road Resources is edging down 0.2 percent. Resolute Mining is flat.

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.