Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is notably lower on Friday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying below the 7,200 level, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, with weakness across most sectors, led by energy and financial stocks. Traders digested data that showed a slowdown in Australian manufacturing activity and services activity. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 44.20 points or 0.61 percent to 7,151.30, after hitting a low of 7,142.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 42.60 points or 0.58 percent to 7,338.40. Australian markets ended sharply lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while BHP Group is losing almost 1 percent. Fortescue Metals is declining 1.5 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos and Beach energy are losing almost 3 percent each, while Woodside Energy is down more than 2 percent and Origin Energy is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 1 percent, Appen is edging down 0.4 percent and Xero is down almost 1 percent, while, Zip is adding more than 1 percent and WiseTech Global is edging up 0.2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are all losing almost 1 percent each.

Gold miners are mixed. Gold Road Resources is losing more than 5 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining are edging down 0.2 to 0.3 percent each. Resolute Mining is gaining more than 1 percent and Evolution Mining is adding almost 1 percent.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to contract in June, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.6. That's up from 48.4 in May, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the services PMI fell from 52.1 in May to 50.7 in June, while the composite index slipped from 51.6 in May to 50.5 in June.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.676 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a lackluster performance for much of the trading session on Thursday but managed to end the day mostly higher. Technology stocks helped lead the advance, resulting in a surge by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

The Nasdaq saw further upside going into the close, jumping 128.41 points or 1.0 percent to 13,630.61. The S&P 500 also climbed 16.20 points or 0.4 percent to 4,381.89, while the narrower Dow edged down 4.81 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 33,946.71.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index edged down by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both fell by 0.8 percent.

Crude oil prices fell sharply Thursday as interest rate hikes and inflation concerns raised concerns about the outlook for fuel demand, while a stronger greenback also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended lower by $3.02 or 4.1 percent at $69.51 a barrel.