Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is trading notably lower on Thursday, snapping a three-session winning streak, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 9,100 level, with weakness in mining and technology stocks partially offset by gains in financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 50.60 points or 0.55 percent to 9,102.60, after hitting a low of 9,103.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 53.40 points or 0.57 percent to 9,237.90. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are declining more than 1 percent each, while Fortescue is losing almost 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Beach energy and Santos are edging up 0.3 percent each, while Origin Energy is losing almost 1 percent and Woodside Energy is edging down 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Zip are losing more than 1 percent each, while WiseTech Global is down almost 1 percent. Xero is jumping almost 5 percent after reporting upbeat half-yearly results, boosting full-year outlook and $1 billion share buy-back announcement. Appen is flat.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank is edging up 0.2 percent, while Commonwealth Bank is advancing almost 2 percent and Westpac is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Resolute Mining are declining almost 3 percent each, while Northern Star Resources and Newmont are losing more than 2 percent each. Genesis Minerals is tumbling almost 5 percent.

In other news, shares in Paladin Energy shares are in a trading halt pending a capital raising update.

In economic news, Australia's consumer inflation expectations held steady at 5.3 percent in November 2026, unchanged from the previous month and remaining at their highest level since June. Elevated expectations came as September headline inflation accelerated to a six-month high of 4.3 percent, staying above the Reserve Bank's 2 to 3 percent target range.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.684 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks saw a significant rebound during trading on Wednesday following the pullback seen during Tuesday's session. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 moved sharply higher, while the narrower Dow posted a more moderate gain.

The major averages gave back some ground in the latter part of the trading day but remained firmly positive. The Nasdaq surged 400.31 points or 1.6 percent to 25,466.19, the S&P 500 jumped 98.45 points or 1.3 percent to 7,619.38 and the Dow climbed 254.60 points or 0.5 percent to 52,486.49.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index shot up by 1.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.8 and the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices advanced on Wednesday after strong remarks by Iranian leaders against the U.S. diminished expectations of an early reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was up $0.96 or 1.12 percent at $87.00 per barrel.