Australian Market Extends Early Losses In Mid-market

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is extending its early losses in mid-market moves on Thursday, adding the losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 9,050 level, with weakness in mining and technology stocks partially offset by gains in energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 84.90 points or 0.93 percent to 9,042.90, after hitting a low of 9,037.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 89.40 points or 0.96 percent to 9,249.40. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 1 percent and Rio Tinto is edging down 0.3 percent, while Fortescue is edging up 0.2 percent and Mineral Resources is gaining almost 4 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Beach energy are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Santos is gaining almost 1 percent. Origin Energy is flat.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 2 percent. Xero and Zip are down almost 1 percent each, while WiseTech Global is losing more than 2 percent and Appen is tumbling more than 11 percent on unchanged full-year guidance, despite upbeat results. Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is edging down 0.5 percent, while Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each.

Among gold miners, Genesis Minerals is losing more than 2 percent, Evolution Mining is slipping almost 3 percent and Resolute Mining is declining more than 1 percent, while Newmont and Northern Star Resources are down almost 1 percent each.

In other news, shares in Objective Corp are tumbling more than 20 percent after the loss of a major National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) contract and weak guidance for the full-year 2027.

Shares in DUG Technology are plunging more than 16 percent after reporting downbeat results for the full-year 2026, despite returning to profit and revenue jumping 38 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.718 on Thursday.