Australian Markets Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is notably lower on Monday, extending the sharp losses 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 8,700.00 level, with weakness in financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in iron ore miners and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 66.80 points or 0.76 percent to 8,677.60, after hitting a low of 8,673.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 66.60 points or 0.74 percent to 8,913.90. Australian stocks closed sharply lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Fortescue is edging up 0.3 percent and Rio Tinto is gaining more than 1 percent, while BHP Group and Mineral Resources are adding almost 1 percent each.

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

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 1 percent, while Xero is declining more than 4 percent, Zip is down more than 3 percent, WiseTech Global is losing almost 3 percent and Appen is slipping almost 2 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining are edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Genesis Minerals is losing almost 2 percent. Resolute Mining is gaining more than 1 percent. Newmont is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while National Australia Bank and Westpac are declining more than 1 percent each.

In other news, shares in CSL are tumbling more than 19 percent after it downgraded its outlook for the 2026 fiscal year. It has flagged US$S5 billion (A$6.91 billion) in additional non-cash pre-tax impairments over FY26 and FY27.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.724 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Friday following the pullback seen over the course of the previous session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way higher and reached a new record closing high along with the S&P 500.

The Nasdaq saw further upside going into the end of the day, surging 440.88 points or 1.7 percent to 26,247.08. The S&P 500 also advanced 61.82 points or 0.8 percent to 7,398.93, while the narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, inching up 12.19 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 49,609.19.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.1 percent and the German DAX Index tumbled by 1.3 percent.

Crude oil prices inched higher Friday as Middle East tensions renewed between the U.S. and Iran. Iran is also delaying its response to a U.S. peace proposal, adding to the uncertainty. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $0.36 or 0.36 percent at $95.17 per barrel.