Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading notably lower on Wednesday, snapping a three-session winning streak, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling to near the 7,800 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with a mixed performance across most sectors.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 41.50 points or 0.53 percent to 7,818.90, after hitting a low of 7,808.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 42.30 points or 0.52 percent to 8,047.60. Australian stocks ended slightly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.2 percent, while Mineral Resources is losing more than 5 percent after it ceased haulage on its crucial Onslow iron haul road following a sixth jumbo road train crash. Rio Tinto is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is gaining almost 2 percent and Santos is gaining almost 1 percent, while Origin Energy is losing more than 1 percent. Woodside Energy is flat.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 3 percent and WiseTech Global is edging up 0.3 percent, while Xero and Appen are edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each. Zip is declining almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while National Australia Bank is edging up 0.3 percent. Westpac is flat.

Among gold miners, Resolute Mining and Gold Road Resources are losing more than 3 percent each, while Northern Star Resources and Newmont are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each. Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.636 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Tuesday, giving back ground following the significant rebound seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the pullback.

The major averages ended the day off their worst levels but still firmly negative. The Nasdaq tumbled 304.55 points or 1.7 percent to 17,504.12, the S&P 500 slumped 60.46 points or 1.1 percent to 5,614.66 and the Dow slid 260.32 points or 0.6 percent to 41,581.31.

Meanwhile, the major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index jumped by 1.0 percent, the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.5 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices settled lower on Tuesday as concerns about supply disruptions eased, while worries about global growth due to the impact of U.S. trade tariffs weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $0.68 or 1 percent at $66.90 a barrel.