Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading modestly lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 8,650 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in financial stocks partially offset by gains in mining stocks. Most other sectors were mixed.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 16.10 points or 0.19 percent to 8,641.70, after hitting a low of 8,636.70 and a high of 8,672.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 10.20 points or 0.12 percent to 8,872.40. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue are adding more than 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is gaining almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing 1.5 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Beach energy is edging up 0.5 percent and Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent, while Woodside Energy and Santos are losing almost 1 percent each.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is edging up 0.5 percent, Zip is gaining almost 1 percent and Appen is adding more than 1 percent, while WiseTech Global is losing almost 1 percent and Xero is edging down 0.5 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia bank is declining almost 2 percent, Westpac is losing more than 1 percent, Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.3 percent and ANZ Banking is down almost 1 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining, Northern Star Resources and Newmont are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Resolute Mining is gaining more than 1 percent. Genesis Minerals is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.718 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged to a new record closing high on Tuesday, with technology stocks showing a substantial move to the upside. The S&P 500 also advanced to a new record closing high, while the narrower Dow showed a modest move to the downside.

The Nasdaq shot up 312.21 points or 1.2 percent to 26,656.18 and the S&P 500 climbed 45.65 points or 0.6 percent to 7,519.12, while the Dow dipped 118.02 points or 0.2 percent to 50,461.68. Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1 percent and the German DAX Index slid by 0.8 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index bucked the downtrend and rose by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Tuesday on optimism that a U.S.-Iran peace deal could soon lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $2.72 or 2.82 percent at $93.88 per barrel.