Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market modestly lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,100 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, led by losses in mining and energy stocks amid weaker commodity prices. Traders also remain cautious amid concerns about the outlook for interest rate hikes.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 24.50 points or 0.34 percent to 7,121.80, after hitting a low of 7,120.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 27.00 points or 0.37 percent to 7,323.20. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto and OZ Minerals are losing almost 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals and BHP Group are declining more than 1 percent each. Mineral Resources is plunging almost 7 percent. Oil stocks are mostly weak. Beach energy is losing almost 2 percent and Woodside Energy is down more than 1 percent, while Santos is edging up 0.1 percent. Origin Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 1 percent, Xero is adding more than 1 percent and WiseTech Global is edging up 0.3 percent, while Zip is losing almost 3 percent and Appen is declining more than 3 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.3 percent, Northern Star Resources is adding more than 1 percent and Resolute Mining is advancing almost 3 percent, while Newcrest Mining is edging down 0.3 percent. Evolution Mining is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are gaining more than 1 percent, while ANZ Banking is edging up 0.3 percent and National Australia Bank is adding almost 1 percent.

In other news, shares in Incitec Pivot are surging almost 9 percent after the fertilizer maker received multiple potential buyout offers for its ammonia manufacturing facility in the U.S. It also reported a six-fold surge in profit.

In economic news, Members of the Reserve Bank of Australia's Monetary Policy Board agreed that inflation continues to be too high, and that further interest rate increases would be necessary, minutes from the bank's Nov. 1 meeting revealed on Tuesday.

The Australian economy continues to grow solidly but could be subjected to downside risks, such as pressure on the global economy, the minutes showed. The members agreed that rate hikes were needed to help establish a better balance between supply and demand. The board also felt it necessary to return inflation to its target range of 2 to 3 percent at the earliest opportunity.

At the meeting, the RBA raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to 2.85 percent and repeated the guidance that rates will be lifted further based on incoming data.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.669 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Monday following the substantial upward move seen last week. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing in negative territory.

The major averages came under pressure going into the close, ending the session near their worst levels of the day. The Dow slid 211.16 points or 0.6 percent to 33,536.70, the Nasdaq tumbled 127.11 points or 1.1 percent to 11,196.22 and the S&P 500 slumped 35.68 points or 0.9 percent to 3,957.25.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index climbed by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index edged up by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices slumped Monday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand from China, a downward revision in demand growth forecast by OPEC and a stronger dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended lower by $3.09 or 3.5 percent at $85.87 a barrel.