Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading notably lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling well below the 8,400 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and energy stocks amid higher commodity prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 33.60 points or 0.40 percent to 8,359.40, after hitting a low of 8,357.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 31.50 points or 0.36 percent to 8,618.50. Australian stocks ended notably lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is declining almost 2 percent.

Oil stocks are weak. Woodside Energy is losing almost 1 percent and Beach energy is declining more than 2 percent, while Santos and Origin Energy are down more than 1 percent each.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block, WiseTech Global, Xero and Zip are losing more than 1 percent each, while Appen is adding almost 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while ANZ Banking is edging down 0.2 percent. National Australia Bank is flat.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Newmont is losing almost 1 percent and Gold Road Resources is declining almost 2 percent. Resolute Mining is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.638 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks moved moderately lower over the course of the trading session on Tuesday after failing to sustain an early move to the upside. The major averages added to the losses posted during Monday's session, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 pulling back further off last Friday's record closing highs. The major averages dipped to new lows for the session in the latter part of the trading day. The Dow slid 154.10 points or 0.4 percent to 44,247.83, the Nasdaq fell 49.45 points or 0.3 percent to 19,687.24 and the S&P 500 slipped 17.94 points or 0.3 percent to 6,034.91.

The major European markets all also moved to the downside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.9 percent and the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices settled higher on Tuesday amid hopes that demand from China will increase following recent stimulus measures announced by the Chinese government. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January closed up $0.22 or 0.32 percent at $68.59 a barrel.