Australian Market Extends Early Losses In Mid-market

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is extending its early losses in mid-market moves on Friday after opening slightly in the green, and also adding to the losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,650 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 68.20 points or 0.79 percent to 8,617.90, after hitting a low of 8,613.60 and a high of 8,705.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 66.20 points or 0.74 percent to 8,850.70. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is down almost 2 percent, Mineral Resources is declining more than 3 percent, BHP Group is losing more than 2 percent and Fortescue is slipping almost 3 percent.

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

Among tech stocks, Afterpay and Square-owner Block is gaining almost 1 percent and Zip is advancing more than 1 percent, while WiseTech Global is losing almost 1 percent, Appen is declining almost 4 percent and Xero is edging down 0.1 percent.

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

Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources is down almost 1 percent, Evolution Mining is losing more than 2 percent, Genesis Minerals is declining almost 4 percent and Newmont is edging down 0.3 percent. Resolute Mining is tumbling almost 12 percent on disappointing second-quarter production update and guidance for its Syama Gold Mine in Mali.

In other news, shares in Megaport are jumping more than 17 percent on return to trade on Friday after completing the $518 million institutional component of its enormous $827.3 million fully underwritten entitlement offer.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.712 on Friday.