Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is notably lower on Friday, snapping a four-session winning streak, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 7,300 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness across most sectors, led by heavyweight mining stocks. Energy stocks were the only bright spot.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 27.50 points or 0.38 percent to 7,277.80, after hitting a low of 7,268.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 30.20 points or 0.40 percent to 7,487.60. Australian markets ended slightly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are losing almost 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is declining more than 5 percent. Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is edging up 0.1 percent and Santos is gaining almost 2 percent, while Beach energy and Woodside Energy are adding almost 1 percent each. Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and Appen are losing more than 1 percent each, while Xero is declining almost 1 percent. WiseTech Global is edging up 0.2 percent. Zip is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are losing almost 1 percent each. Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining are losing 1.5 percent each, while Resolute Mining is declining more than 4 percent and Evolution Mining is slipping more than 2 percent. Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.2 percent.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to contract in August, and at a steady pace, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.6. That's unchanged from the July reading and it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.650 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading session on Thursday after failing to sustain an early move to the upside. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session, with the Dow and the S&P 500 ending the day in negative territory.

The Dow jumped by nearly 180 points in early trading but ended the day down 168.33 points or 0.5 percent at 34,721.91. The S&P 500 also slipped 7.21 points or 0.2 percent to 4,507.66, while the Nasdaq inched up 15.66 points or 0.1 percent to 14,034.97 closing higher for the fifth straight session.

The major European markets also turned mixed on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index declined by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil moved sharply higher on Thursday, advancing for the sixth consecutive session following another steep drop in U.S. crude oil inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate for October delivery surged $2 or 2.5 percent to $83.63 a barrel, a three-week closing high.