Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is trading notably lower on Thursday, reversing the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 8,300 level, with weakness across most sectors led by and technology stocks. Gold miners are the only bright spot.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 47.90 points or 0.57 percent to 8,338.90, after hitting a low of 8,311.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 48.90 points or 0.57 percent to 8,562.80. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Mineral Resources is declining almost 2 percent and Fortescue Metals is losing almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos is down more than 1 percent and Origin Energy is edging down 0.3 percent, while Beach energy and Woodside Energy are losing almost 1 percent each.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 3 percent and Zip is sliding almost 6 percent, while WiseTech Global and Xero are declining almost 2 percent each. Appen is edging up 0.4 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is down more than 1 percent and ANZ Banking is edging down 0.1 percent, while Westpac and National Australia Bank are losing almost 1 percent each.

Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources is adding almost 2 percent, Gold Road Resources is gaining more than 1 percent, Newmont is up more than 1 percent and Evolution Mining is gaining more than 2 percent, while Resolute Mining is losing almost 1 percent.

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

On Wall Street, stocks showed a more substantial move to the downside during trading on Wednesday following a moderate pullback in the previous session. The major averages rebounded from an initial decline but once again slumped into negative territory as the day progressed.

The major averages ended the day off their worst levels but still sharply lower. The Dow plunged 816.80 points or 1.9 percent to 41,860.44, the S&P 500 slumped 95.85 points or 1.6 percent to 5,844.61 and the Nasdaq tumbled 270.07 points or 1.4 percent to 18,872.64.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index climbed by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices fell under pressure Wednesday after a report released by the Energy Information Administration showed U.S. crude oil inventories unexpectedly increased last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery slid $0.46 to 0.7 percent to $61.57 a barrel.