Australian Market Extends Early Losses In Mid-market

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is extending its 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 falling well below the 9,150 level, with weakness in mining and technology stocks partially offset by gains in financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 30.80 points or 0.34 percent to 9,122.40, after hitting a low of 9,100.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 36.20 points or 0.39 percent to 9,255.10. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are declining more than 1 percent each, while Fortescue is losing almost 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Beach energy and Santos are edging up 0.3 percent each, while Origin Energy is losing almost 1 percent and Woodside Energy is edging down 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Zip are losing more than 1 percent each, while WiseTech Global is down almost 1 percent. Xero is jumping almost 5 percent after reporting upbeat half-yearly results, boosting full-year outlook and $1 billion share buy-back announcement. Appen is flat.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank is edging up 0.2 percent, while Commonwealth Bank is advancing almost 2 percent and Westpac is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Resolute Mining are declining almost 3 percent each, while Northern Star Resources and Newmont are losing more than 2 percent each. Genesis Minerals is tumbling almost 5 percent.

In other news, shares in Paladin Energy shares are in a trading halt pending a capital raising update.

In economic news, Australia's consumer inflation expectations held steady at 5.3 percent in November 2026, unchanged from the previous month and remaining at their highest level since June. Elevated expectations came as September headline inflation accelerated to a six-month high of 4.3 percent, staying above the Reserve Bank's 2 to 3 percent target range.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.685 on Thursday.