Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,100 level, following the broadly negative cues from global markets on Friday, with the losses in technology and financial stocks, partially offset by gains in gold miners and materials stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 19.10 points or 0.27 percent to 7,129.60, after hitting a low of 7,123.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 19.00 points or 0.26 percent to 7,317.50. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 1 percent, while BHP Group, OZ Minerals, Fortescue Metals and Mineral Resources are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly unchanged. Origin Energy is losing more than 1 percent, while Woodside Energy and Beach energy are flat. Santos is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and Appen are losing more than 3 percent each, while Xero is declining almost 1 percent. WiseTech Global is adding more than 1 percent and Zip is flat.

Gold miners are mostly strong after a spike in gold prices. Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining are gaining almost 5 percent each, while Gold Road Resources is adding more than 4 percent and Newcrest Mining is edging up 0.1 percent. Resolute Mining is losing 2.5 percent.

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

In other news, shares in Star Entertainment Group tumbled more than 11 percent after the New South Wales government proposed increased tax rates on casino winnings from gaming tables and poker machines.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.670 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a significant move to the downside during trading on Friday, extending the sharp pullback seen over the two preceding sessions. With the continued weakness, the major averages fell to their lowest closing levels in over a month.

The major averages regained some ground going into the close but remained firmly negative. The Dow slid 281.76 points or 0.9 percent to 32,920.46, the Nasdaq slumped 105.11 points or 1.0 percent to 10,705.41 and the S&P 500 tumbled 43.39 points or 1.1 percent to 3,852.36.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index fell by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 1.1 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices fell sharply Friday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to a global economic slowdown. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended down by $1.82 or 2.4 percent at $74.29 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained 4.4 percent in the week.