Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading modestly lower on Friday, extending the gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,950 level, with weakness across most sectors led by gold miners and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 20.80 points or 0.23 percent to 8,949.00, after hitting a low of 8,938.20 and a high of 8,981.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 22.00 points or 0.24 percent to 9,254.60. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue are declining more than 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is losing almost 2 percent. Mineral Resources is gaining almost 3 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy and Santos are edging down 0.3 percent each, while Woodside Energy is losing more than 1 percent and Beach energy is declining almost 3 percent. Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block and Xero are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Zip and Appen are advancing more than 1 percent each. WiseTech Global is edging down 0.2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while ANZ Banking is gaining almost 1 percent. Westpac is edging down 0.1 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Resolute Mining is tumbling almost 5 percent, Northern Star Resources is declining almost 4 percent, Evolution Mining is losing more than 3 percent and Newmont is down more than 2 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.656 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks saw some weakness during trading on Thursday, giving back ground following the advance seen over the course of the previous session. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 pulling back off yesterday's record closing highs.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 climbed well off their worst levels going into the close but remained in the red. The Nasdaq edged down 18.75 points or 0.1 percent to 23,024.63, the S&P 500 fell 18.61 points or 0.3 percent to 6,735.11 and the Dow slid 243.36 points or 0.5 percent to 46,358.42.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index crept up 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index dipped 0.2 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Thursday due to the possible easing of hostilities in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was down $1.10 or 1.76 percent at $61.45 per barrel.