Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - Giving up some of the gains in the previous two sessions, the Australian stock market is modestly lower on Friday, following the lackluster cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 7,600 level, with losses across most sectors led by gold miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 20.30 points or 0.27 percent to 7,594.00, after hitting a low of 7,581.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 19.60 points or 0.25 percent to 7,832.50. Australian markets ended significantly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is edging down 0.5 percent. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy, Santos and Beach energy are losing almost 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is edging down 0.1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Zip is declining almost 2 percent and Xero is losing almost 1 percent. Appen is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are all edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each. Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining is losing more than 1 percent, Newmont is declining more than 2 percent and Gold Road Resources is slipping almost 3 percent, while Resolute Mining and Northern Star Resources are down almost 2 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.684 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a lackluster performance during trading on Thursday, extending the choppy trading seen throughout much of the week. The major averages eventually ended the session narrowly mixed.

While the Nasdaq edged down 4.04 points or less than a tenth of a percent to15,096.14, the Dow inched up 53.58 points or 0.1 percent to a new record closing high of 37,710.10 and the S&P 500 crept up 1.77 points or less than a tenth of a percent to a nearly two-year closing high of 4.783.35.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside. While the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just below the unchanged line.

Crude oil prices fell sharply Thursday on easing concerns about trade disruptions after several shipping companies resumed transit via the Red Sea. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended down $2.34 or 3 percent at $71.77 a barrel.