Australian Market Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading slightly lower on Wednesday, reversing some of the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 well below the 9,150 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in mining stocks nearly offset by gains in energy, financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 7.50 points or 0.08 percent to 9,121.50, after hitting a low of 9,084.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 8.50 points or 0.09 percent to 9,259.30. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is edging down 0.5 percent and Fortescue is down almost 1 percent, while Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are losing more than 1 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy, Beach energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 2 percent, while Appen is gaining almost 1 percent, WiseTech Global is edging up 0.2 percent, Zip is advancing almost 3 percent and Xero is adding more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.4 percent, ANZ Banking is gaining more than 1 percent and Westpac is adding almost 1 percent, while National Australia bank is down almost 1 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent, Newmont is declining more than 3 percent and Resolute Mining is slipping almost 2 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Genesis Minerals are down more than 1 percent each.

In other news, shares in IDP are soaring more than 18 percent after it received a sweetened, unsolicited cash takeover proposal from Blackstone valued at A$3.00 per share.

Shares in GQG Partners are plunging more than 12 percent following a heavy monthly update revealing massive investor redemptions.

In economic news, the value of new owner-occupier loan commitments for dwellings in Australia fell 5.3 percent on quarter to AUD 56.45 billion in the third quarter of 2026, the lowest in five quarters, deepening from a marginally revised 2.0 percent decline in the previous period.

On an annual basis, owner-occupier lending dipped 4.6 percent. Meanwhile, investment lending for housing tumbled 32.3 percent to AUD 24.71 billion, its lowest level in three years, steeper than a 11.2 percent decline in the second quarter. On a yearly basis, investment loan values plunged 38.1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.687 on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stock moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday giving back ground following the substantial rally seen to start the week. The major averages all moved to the downside, although selling pressure appeared relatively subdued.

The major averages ended the day well off their worst levels but still in negative territory. The Nasdaq slid 187.26 points or 0.7 percent to 25,065.87, the S&P 500 fell 29.01 points or 0.4 percent to 7,520.93 and the Dow dipped 157.86 points or 0.3 percent to 52,231.89. Meanwhile, the major European markets turned mixed over the course of the session. While the French CAC 40 Index fell 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.6 percent.

Crude oil prices turned lower on Tuesday as concerns of U.S.-Iran re-escalation faded after U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to maintain a status quo in the U.S.-Iran crisis. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was down $0.97 or 1.12 percent at $85.88 per barrel.