Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading modestly lower on Monday, extending the slight losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling below the 8,500.00 level, with weakness in technology and financial stocks partially offset by gains in gold miners and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 22.40 points or 0.26 percent to 8,489.00, after hitting a low of 8,445.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 24.40 points or 0.28 percent to 8,755.90. Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Mineral Resources are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.5 percent. Rio Tinto is flat. Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is edging up 0.1 percent, Origin Energy is gaining more than 1 percent and Beach energy is advancing more than 2 percent, while Woodside Energy is edging down 0.3 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block, Zip and Xero are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while WiseTech Global is declining 3.5 percent. Appen is gaining almost 2 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Gold Road Resources and Newmont are edging up 0.4 percent each. Resolute Mining is advancing more than 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are losing almost 1 percent each, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each.

In other news, shares in Star Entertainment Group are jumping almost 14 percent after the beleaguered casino operator said it would not accept proposals from Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium to take over its 50 per cent stake and debt in the Queen's Wharf complex in Brisbane.

Shares in Ansell are surging more that 6 percent after the medical gear maker said it was planning price rises to offset US tariffs.

In economic news, the total number of building permits issued in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent on month in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday - coming in at 15,174. That was in line with expectations following the 3.4 percent decline in November. The value of total residential building fell 0.9 percent on month to A$8.33 billion, while the value of non-residential building rose 9.7 percent to A$6.62 billion.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.626 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Friday, giving back ground after trending higher over the past few sessions. The major averages turned negative within the first hour of trading and saw further downside as the day progressed.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained firmly negative. The Nasdaq dove 268.59 points or 1.3 percent to 19,523.40, the Dow tumbled 444.23 points or 1.0 percent to 44,303.40 and the S&P 500 slumped 57.58 points or 1.0 percent to 6,025.99.

The major European markets all also moved lower on the day. The German DAX Index fell by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index declined by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Friday after the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Iran's crude exports, although a stronger dollar limited oil's gains. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March rose $0.39 or 0.5 percent at $71.00 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed 2 percent in the week.