Australian Markets Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Monday, reversing some of the sharp gains in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling well below the 8,750.00 level, with weakness in energy stocks amid tumbling crude oil prices partially offset by gains in technology and mining stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 19.40 points or 0.22 percent to 8,712.30, after hitting a low of 8,699.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 13.30 points or 0.15 percent to 8,951.70. Australian stocks closed sharply higher on Friday.

Among the major miners, Fortescue and BHP Group are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is adding more than 1 percent. Mineral Resources is edging down 0.1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is edging down 0.5 percent and Woodside Energy is declining almost 2 percent, while Santos and Origin Energy are down more than 1 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and Zip are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Appen is jumping almost 6 percent, WiseTech Global is surging more than 6 percent and Xero is soaring more than 8 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Newmont is gaining almost 1 percent, Genesis Minerals is adding almost 3 percent and Evolution Mining is advancing more than 2 percent, while Resolute Mining is losing almost 1 percent. Northern Star Resources flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is losing almost 1 percent and ANZ Banking is edging down 0.4 percent, while Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each.

In other news, shares in Pro Medicus are jumping almost 9 percent after its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, Visage Imaging, inked a five-year, A$28 million contract renewal with Allegheny Health Network (AHN).

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.718 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Friday but largely maintained a positive bias before ending the day mostly higher. The Dow led the way higher, although all three major averages ended the day at new record closing highs.

The Dow climbed 363.49 points or 0.7 percent to 51,032.46, while the Nasdaq increased 55.15 points or 0.2 percent to 26,972.62 and the S&P 500 rose 16.43 points or 0.2 percent to 7,580.06.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day narrowly mixed. While the German DAX Index crept up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices tumbled Friday on expectations of the U.S. and Iran signing an agreement, which would allow for the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and pave the way for the resumption of oil and energy trade. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $1.65 or 1.86 percent at $87.25 per barrel.