Australian Market Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading notably higher on Friday, after a relatively flat close in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,800 level, with weakness in mining and financial stocks partially offset gains in energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 46.00 points or 0.52 percent to 8,794.70, after hitting a low of 8,794.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 50.50 points or 0.56 percent to 8,986.40. Australian stocks closed relatively flat on Thursday.

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

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy is advancing almost 3 percent, while Santos, Origin Energy and Beach energy are adding almost 1 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay and Square-owner Block is losing almost 1 percent, Zip is slipping almost 3 percent and Appen is declining more than 3 percent, while Xero is gaining more than 3 percent and WiseTech Global is adding almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is declining more than 1 percent and National Australia Bank is edging down 0.5 percent, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are losing almost 1 percent each.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources, Evolution Mining and Newmont are declining almost 4 percent each, while Resolute Mining is slipping almost 5 percent and Genesis Minerals is tumbling more than 6 percent.

In other news, shares in Regis Resources are tumbling almost 9 percent after the gold miner boosted its FY27 production guidance and adjusted cost forecasts, while increasing growth capital and exploration spending.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.700 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday, giving back ground following the upward move seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the Nasdaq showing a significant decline.

The major averages regained some ground going into end of the day but still closed in negative territory. The Nasdaq tumbled 387.28 points or 1.5 percent to 25,881.95, the S&P 500 slid 38.63 points or 0.5 percent to 7,533.77 and the Dow dipped 105.67 points or 0.2 percent to 52,552.97.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned mixed over the course of the session. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index fell by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices slumped on Thursday as hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the U.S.-Iran conflict strengthened. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was down $0.90 or 1.13 percent at $78.70 per barrel.