Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading notably lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from European markets and lack of cues from Wall Street overnight overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,850 level, with weakness across most sectors led by financial and mining stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 41.60 points or 0.47 percent to 8,832.90, after hitting a low of 8,831.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 43.90 points or 0.48 percent to 9,151.00. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 1 percent, Mineral Resources is declining almost 2 percent, Rio Tinto is down almost 1 percent and Fortescue is edging down 0.5 percent. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos is edging down 0.2 percent, Woodside Energy is down almost 1 percent and Beach energy is declining almost 3 percent, while Origin Energy is gaining almost 2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.2 percent and Appen is declining almost 2 percent, while WiseTech Global and Zip are losing almost 1 percent each. Xero is gaining more than 2 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining and Genesis Minerals are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Resolute Mining is declining more than 2 percent and Newmont is down almost 1 percent. Northern Star resources is gaining more than 1 percent.

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

In other news, shares in ARB Corp. are diving more than 13 percent after the 4WD accessories giant released a half-year trading update, with revenues slipping and profit expected to fall.

Shares in Telix Pharmaceuticals are gaining almost 4 percent after China's drug regulator accepted a new drug application for TLX591-Px, its lead prostate cancer imaging agent sold as Illuccix.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.671 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, the markets were closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. The German DAX lost 0.9 percent, France's CAC 40 tumbled 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.2 percent.