Australian Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is sharply lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,800 level, with weakness in across most sectors led by financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 121.10 points or 1.36 percent to 8,790.30, after hitting a low of 8,782.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 115.50 points or 1.27 percent to 8,987.40. Australian stocks ended slightly lower on Wednesday.

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

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy and Santos are edging up 0.1 percent each, while Beach energy is gaining almost 1 percent. Woodside Energy is edging down 0.3 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.2 percent, Xero is declining more than 2 percent and WiseTech Global is down more than 1 percent, while Appen and Zip are slipping almost 3 percent each.

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

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is declining almost 2 percent and Northern Star Resources is losing more than 1 percent, while Newmont is edging up 0.2 percent and Resolute Mining is gaining almost 1 percent. Genesis Minerals is flat.

In other news, shares in St. Barbara are soaring almost 21 percent after the gold miner announced the sale of its remaining stake in the New Simberi project to China's Lingbao Gold Group.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.722 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks saw continued weakness throughout the trading day on Wednesday after coming under pressure early in the session. The major averages closed lower for the third consecutive session, with the Dow falling to its lowest closing level in over a month.

The major averages ended the day off their lows of the session but still in negative territory. The Dow slid 405.41 points or 0.8 percent to 52,380.66, the Nasdaq declined 168.07 points or 0.6 percent to 26,253.34 and the S&P 500 fell 37.16 points or 0.5 percent to 7,636.36.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index plunged by 1.9 percent, the German DAX Index tumbled by 1.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 1.3 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday as the U.S. and Iran continued to trade attacks, dashing hopes for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and renewing inflation concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $2.98 or 3.20 percent at $96.01 per barrel.