Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Monday, reversing the gains in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is staying well below the 8,650.00 level, with weakness across most sectors led by gold miners and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 16.20 points or 0.19 percent to 8,618.40, after hitting a low of 8,595.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 17.90 points or 0.20 percent to 8,908.20. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Rio Tinto is declining almost 2 percent. Mineral Resources is gaining more than 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is losing more than 1 percent, while Santos and Origin Energy are down almost 1 percent each. Woodside Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 2 percent and Xero is edging down 0.5 percent. Zip is adding almost 2 percent, while Appen and WiseTech Global are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Gold miners are weak. Northern Star Resources is declining almost 2 percent, Resolute Mining is edging down 0.5 percent and Newmont is slipping more than 2 percent, while Genesis Minerals and Evolution Mining are losing almost 1 percent each.

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

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.664 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks saw modest strength during trading on Friday after ending Thursday's choppy trading session little changed. With the upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached their best closing levels in a month.

The major averages gave back ground after an early advance but remained in positive territory. The Dow rose 104.05 points or 0.2 percent to 47,954.99, the Nasdaq climbed 72.99 point or 0.3 percent to 23,578.13 and the S&P 500 increased 13.28 points or 0.2 percent to 6,870.40.

Meanwhile, the major European markets also turned mixed on the day. While the German DAX Index climbed by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.5 percent.

Crude oil prices edged higher on Friday on persistent geopolitical tension due to the Russia-Ukraine war and the U.S.-Venezuela standoff. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.35 or 0.59 percent at $60.02 per barrel.