Australian Market Slips In To The Red In Mid-market Trades

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is slipping in to the red in mid-market moves on Friday after opening in the green, extending the losses in the previous four sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 8,300 level, with a mixed performance across most sectors. Mining stocks are the only bright spot as the underlying metal prices are higher.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 14.10 points or 0.17 percent to 8,308.70, after touching a high of 8,354.00 and a low of 8,301.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 13.80 points or 0.16 percent to 8,587.90. Australian stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 2 percent, Rio Tinto is advancing almost 3 percent, Fortescue Metals is adding more than 3 percent and Mineral Resources is surging almost 5 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is gaining more than 2 percent, while Woodside Energy and Beach energy are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each. Santos is edging down 0.2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Xero is losing almost 2 percent and Zip is declining almost 3 percent, while Appen is gaining almost 3 percent. WiseTech Global is still in a trading halt amid a series of allegations levelled against its founder Richard White. Afterpay-owner Block is slipping more than 7 percent after reporting mixed performance for the full-year 2024.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is declining more than 2 percent and National Australia Bank is edging down 0.2 percent, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are losing almost 1 percent each. Gold miners are mixed. Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent and Gold Road Resources is declining 2.5 percent, while Resolute Mining is advancing almost 5 percent and Northern Star Resources is gaining almost 1 percent. Newmont is flat.

In other news, shares in Domain Holdings are skyrocketing more than 39 percent after US real estate giant CoStar floated a $2.7 billion bid to acquire the real estate platform. Shares in Domain owner Nine Entertainment are also soaring almost 22 percent.

Shares in Guzman y Gomez are tumbling more than 7 percent after the food retailer reported half-year underlying earnings fell short of market consensus, but said it expects to exceed full-year profit forecasts in 2025 owing to strong first-half sales.

Shares in Spark New Zealand are tumbling more than 18 percent after the broadband provider lowered its 2025 earning guidance on poor performance from its enterprise and government division.

Shares in Jumbo Interactive are tumbling more than 9 percent after the lottery retailer posted a decline in earnings in the first half, citing a subdued environment for jackpots. It also lower its dividend by 11.1 percent.

Shares in Mayne Pharma are skyrocketing more than 33 percent after the pharmaceutical company revealed that it has accepted a $7.40 per share takeover offer from US-based Cosette Pharmaceuticals.

Shares in Telix Pharmaceuticals are jumping almost 14 percent after reporting upbeat full-year results.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.640 on Friday.