Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - Giving up the gains in the previous session, the Australian stock market is notably lower on Friday, following the negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 7,800 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 37.70 points or 0.48 percent to 7,779.60, after hitting a low of 7,744.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 38.80 points or 0.48 percent to 8,033.70. Australian markets ended notably higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources is declining almost 2 percent, while BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are losing almost 1 percent each. Oil stocks are mixed. Beach energy and Origin Energy are losing almost 1 percent each, while Santos is gaining more than 1 percent and Woodside Energy is adding almost 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global is edging down 0.2 percent, Zip is losing more than 1 percent, Afterpay owner Block is slipping more than 6 percent Xero is down almost 1 percent and Appen is declining more than 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is losing almost 1 percent, while National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each. Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent, Newmont is adding more than 1 percent and Resolute Mining is edging up 0.4 percent, while Gold Road Resources and Northern Star Resources are edging down 0.2 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.659 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a strong performance throughout much of the trading day on Thursday but came under substantial pressure in the latter part of the session. The major averages plummeted in the final two hours of trading, ending the day sharply lower.

The major averages saw continued weakness going into the close, finishing the session nearly their worst levels of the day. The Nasdaq tumbled 228.38 points or 1.4 percent to 16,049.08, while the S&P 500 slumped 64.28 points or 1.2 percent to 5,147.21 and the Dow plunged 530.16 points or 1.4 percent to 38,596.98, closing lower for the fourth straight session..

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.5 percent and the German DAX Index rose by 0.2 percent, although the French CAC 40 Index closed just below the unchanged line.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Thursday, extending recent gains amid concerns about supply disruptions due to geopolitical tensions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $1.16 or 1.4 percent at $86.59 a barrel, gaining for a fifth straight session.