Australian Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is sharply lower on Thursday, snapping an eight-session winning streak, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 7,600 level, with weakness across most sectors led by technology, energy and mining stocks.

The markets mirrored the sharp sell-off on Wall Street overnight after the US Fed pushed back against bets on an interest rate cut in March.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 99.60 points or 1.30 percent to 7,581.10, after hitting a low of 7,579.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 102.20 points or 1.29 percent to 7,819.60. Australian stocks ended sharply higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are losing almost 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is down more than 2 percent and Mineral Resources is declining 3.5 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is losing almost 1 percent, Santos is down more than 1 percent and Origin Energy is declining almost 2 percent, while Beach energy is edging up 0.3 percent.

In the tech space, Appen is declining almost 5 percent, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 3 percent, Xero is down almost 2 percent, Zip is slipping more than 2 percent and WiseTech Global is sliding almost 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is losing almost 2 percent and ANZ Banking is down almost 1 percent, while Westpac and National Australia Bank are declining more than 1 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent, Gold Road Resources is sliding almost 3 percent and Resolute Mining is declining almost 6 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Newmont are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia climbed up into expansion territory in January, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Thursday with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.1. That's up from 47.6 in December, and it moves above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.656 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, with the major averages all moving to the downside following the mixed performance seen in the previous session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a particularly steep loss, extending the notable pullback seen on Tuesday.

The major averages finished the session near their worst levels of the day. The Nasdaq plunged 345.89 points or 2.2 percent to 15,164.01, the S&P 500 tumbled 79.32 points or 1.6 percent to 4,845.65 and the Dow slid 317.01 points or 0.8 percent to 38,150.30.

The major European markets all also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.5 percent, German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices slumped Wednesday, weighed down by data showing an unexpected jump in U.S. crude inventories last week, and concerns about the outlook for demand after data showed another contraction in Chinese manufacturing activity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March fell $1.97 or 2.5 percent at $75.85 a barrel.