Australian Market Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market slightly lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,200 level, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, led by weakness in gold miners and technology stocks. The growing unrest in China amid widespread protests against the government's zero-Covid policy is also weighing on market sentiment.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 5.90 points or 0.08 percent to 7,223.20, after hitting a low of 7,200.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 7.00 points or 0.09 percent to 7,411.60. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 1 percent, BHP Group is edging up 0.4 percent and Mineral Resources is adding 1.5 percent, while Fortescue Metals is edging down 0.1 percent. OZ Minerals is flat. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is edging down 0.5 percent, Santos is losing more than 1 percent and Woodside Energy is declining almost 3 percent. Origin Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing almost 1 percent and Appen is declining more than 3 percent, while Xero and WiseTech Global are edging down 0.5 percent each. Zip is gaining more than 1 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources is losing 2.5 percent, Newcrest Mining is down almost 2 percent and Gold Road Resources is slipping more than 1 percent, while Resolute Mining and Evolution Mining are declining almost 3 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Westpac is edging up 0.3 percent. ANZ Banking is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.665 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading session on Monday, largely offsetting the strong upward move seen last week. With the steep drop on the day, the Dow pulled back well off last Friday's seven-month closing high.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained firmly negative. The Dow tumbled 497.57 points or 1.5 percent to 33,849.46, the Nasdaq plunged 176.86 points or 1.6 percent to 11,049.50 and the S&P 500 dove 62.18 points or 1.5 percent to 3,963.94.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index tumbled 1.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices shook off early weakness and moved higher on Monday amid speculation that OPEC will seriously consider a new production cut at its meeting later this week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January gained $0.96 or 1.3 percent at $77.24 a barrel.