Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is notably lower on Friday, reversing to the gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying well below the 8,500 level, with weakness across most sectors led by gold miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 36.50 points or 0.43 percent to 8,438.40, after hitting a low of 8,431.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 38.20 points or 0.44 percent to 8,706.30. Australian markets ended modestly higher on Thursday.

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

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is losing more than 1 percent and Santos is down almost 1 percent, while Beach energy and Origin Energy are flat.

Among tech stocks, Zip is slipping almost 6 percent, Afterpay-owner Block is losing more than 2 percent and Appen is declining almost 2 percent, while WiseTech Global and Xero are down more than 1 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.2 percent, while Westpac is losing almost 1 percent and National Australia Bank is edging down 0.3 percent. ANZ Banking is flat. Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.4 percent, Resolute Mining is slipping more than 3 percent and Newmont is declining more than 1 percent, while Gold Road Resources is gaining almost 2 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.644 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Thursday after climbing to new record highs in the previous session. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The major averages eventually ended the day in negative territory. The Dow slid 248.33 points or 0.6 percent to 44,765.71, the Nasdaq dipped 34.86 points or 0.2 percent to 19,700.26 and the S&P 500 edged down 11.38 points or 0.2 percent to 6,075.11.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. The German DAX Index advanced by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index crept up by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices dipped on Thursday, weighed by weak demand from China and rising production in the United States - although the downside was limited by OPEC's decision to delay a production increase. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January fell $0.24 or 0.4 percent at $68.30 a barrel.