Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is notably lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 7,200 level, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, with losses across most sectors, led by mining and energy stocks amid tumbling commodity prices. Technology stocks were a bright spot.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 43.10 points or 0.60 percent to 7,170.70, after hitting a low of 7,156.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 45.10 points or 0.61 percent to 7,347.80. Australian stocks ended notably lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are down more than 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is declining almost 2 percent and Fortescue Metals is losing 2.5 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos and Origin Energy are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent. Woodside Energy is edging up 0.1 percent.

In the tech space, WiseTech Global and Zip are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 3 percent, Appen is surging almost 5 percent and Xero is adding almost 1 percent.

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

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Gold Road Resources are slipping almost 3 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is down 2.5 percent and Newcrest Mining is losing 1.5 percent. Resolute Mining is gaining almost 1 percent.

In other news, shares in Treasury Wine Estates are down almost 4 percent after the Australian wine producer and distributor said it expects group net sales revenue to decline 2 to 3 percent in FY 2023.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.654 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stock saw further downside during trading on Wednesday following the steep drop seen in Tuesday's session. The major averages all moved lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq pulling back further off the nine-month closing high set on Monday.

The major averages fluctuated in the final hour of trading but remained in negative territory. The Dow slid 255.59 points or 0.8 percent to 32,799.92, the Nasdaq fell 76.08 points or 0.6 percent to 12,484.16 and the S&P 500 dropped 30.34 points or 0.7 percent to 4,115.24.

The major European markets also showed significant moves to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index plunged by 1.9 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dove by 1.8 percent and the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.7 percent.

Crude oil prices moved higher Wednesday, rising for the third consecutive session on concerns over tightening supply after data showed a larger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July jumped $1.43 or 2 percent at $74.34 a barrel.