Australian Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading sharply lower on Friday, reversing some of the sharp gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling more than 2 percent to below the 7,550 level, with weakness across most sectors led by iron ore miners and technology stocks. Gold stocks were the only bright spot.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 172.60 points or 2.24 percent to 7,537.00, after hitting a low of 7,524.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 171.10 points or 2.16 percent to 7,742.80. Australian stocks closed sharply higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto are losing almost 3 percent each, while Mineral Resources is tumbling more than 6 percent. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy is losing more than 2 percent and Beach energy is declining almost 6 percent, while Woodside Energy and Santos are declining almost 4 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block and Zip are losing almost 6 percent each, while WiseTech Global is slipping more than 3 percent, Appen is declining almost 4 percent and Xero is down more than 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are also losing more than 3 percent each. Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Newmont is adding 3.5 percent and Resolute Mining is up more than 1 percent. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.623 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a substantial move back to the downside during trading on Thursday following an historic rally over the course of Wednesday's session. The major averages all posted steep losses but remain well off their recent lows.

The major averages ended the day off their worst levels but still sharply lower. The Nasdaq plunged 737.66 points or 4.3 percent to 16,387.31, the S&P 500 tumbled 188.85 points or 3.5 percent to 5,268.05 and the Dow slumped 1,014.79 points or 2.5 percent to 39,593.66.

Meanwhile, the major European markets showed substantial moves back to the upside on the day. The German DAX also soared by 4.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index shot up by 3.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index surged by 3.0 percent.

Crude oil prices showed a significant move back to the downside during trading on Thursday following the substantial rebound seen over the course of the previous session, Crude for May delivery plunged $2.07 or 3.3 percent to $60.28 a barrel.