Australian Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading sharply lower on Friday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 7,800 level, with weakness across most sectors led by energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 115.40 points or 1.47 percent to 7,744.30, after hitting a low of 7,704.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 123.40 points or 1.53 percent to 7,929.30. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is declining more than 3 percent. Rio Tinto is edging up 0.3 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy is slipping almost 5 percent and Beach energy is declining almost 4 percent, while Woodside Energy and Santos are tumbling more than 6 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is losing almost 5 percent, Zip is tumbling almost 10 percent and WiseTech Global is slipping almost 4 percent, while Appen and Xero are declining more than 3 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is losing almost 1 percent and National Australia Bank is edging down 0.2 percent, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are declining almost 2 percent each. Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining is edging up 0.2 percent, Resolute Mining is adding more than 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is gaining more than 2 percent and Gold Road Resources is advancing more than 3 percent, while Newmont is losing almost 2 percent.

In other news, shares in Amotiv are plummeting more than 15 percent after the car accessories manufacturer warned it expects lower revenue growth and earnings this financial year.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.632 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks plummeted during trading on Thursday amid concerns about a global trade war following President Donald Trump's tariff announcement. The sell-off dragged the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 down to their lowest levels since last August, while the Dow slumped to a nearly seven-month closing low.

The major averages saw further downside going into the close, ending the session near their worst levels of the day. The Nasdaq plummeted 1,050.44 points or 6.0 percent to 16,550.61, the S&P 500 plunged 274.45 points or 4.8 percent to 5,396.52 and the Dow tumbled 1,696.39 points or 4.0 percent to 40,545.93.

The major European markets also showed significant moves to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index plummeted 3.3 percent, the German DAX Index dove by 3.0 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index tumbled by 1.6 percent.

Crude oil prices pulled back sharply on Thursday after the U.S. implemented its tariffs, while additional selling pressure came after OPEC said it would speed up previously announced increases in output. Crude for May delivery plummeted $4.76 or 6.6 percent to $66.95 a barrel.