Australian Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is sharply lower on Wednesday, giving up most of the gains in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling nearly 200 points to the 6,800 level, following the sell-off in the global markets overnight, with weakness across all sectors after hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data raised concerns the Fed will even more aggressively hike interest rate.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 193.30 points or 2.76 percent to 6,816.40, after hitting a low of 6,808.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 200.20 points or 2.76 percent to 7,053.50. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 2 percent and Fortescue Metals is slipping almost 4 percent, while Rio Tinto, OZ Minerals and Mineral Resources are declining almost 3 percent each.

Oil stocks are lower. Santos and Beach energy are losing more than 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is declining more than 2 percent and Woodside Energy is slipping almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block, Xero and Zip are sliding almost 6 percent each, while WiseTech Global is losing more than 4 percent and Appen is down almost 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, and Westpac are losing more than 2 percent each, while National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are slipping more than 3 percent each. Among gold miners, Resolute Mining and Northern Star Resources are sliding more than 5 percent each, while Gold Road Resources is slipping almost 6 percent, Newcrest Mining is losing more than 3 percent and Evolution Mining is plunging more than 6 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.673 on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading session on Tuesday, largely offsetting the recent recovery rally. The major averages all showed substantial moves to the downside, snapping a four-session winning streak.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but still posted steep losses on the day. The Dow plunged 1,276.37 points or 3.9 percent to 31,104.97, the Nasdaq dove 632.84 points or 5.2 percent to 11,633.57 and the S&P 500 plummeted 177.72 points or 4.3 percent to 3,932.69.

The major European markets also moved sharply lower following the U.S. inflation report. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped 1.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.4 and the German DAX Index dove by 1.6 percent.

Crude oil futures snapped a three-session winning streak and ended lower on Tuesday after hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data raised concerns the Fed will aggressively hike interest rate. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended lower by $0.47 or about o.5% at $87.31 a barrel, coming off a high of $89.31 a barrel.