Australian Markets Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is notably lower on Tuesday, reversing some of the gains in the previous two sessions, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling below the 8,850 level, with weakness in financial stocks and a mixed performance across most other sectors as traders remain cautious ahead of the rate decision later in the day.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 67.10 points or 0.75 percent to 8,846.90, after hitting a low of 8,834.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 65.30 points or 0.72 percent to 9,062.70. Australian stocks closed sharply higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group, Rio Tinto, Fortescue and Mineral Resources are all edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each.

Oil stocks are mixed. Beach energy is losing almost 2 percent and Origin Energy is edging down 0.2 percent, while Woodside Energy is adding more than 1 percent and Santos is edging up 0.4 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and Zip are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Appen is edging up 0.5 percent. WiseTech Global is losing more than 2 percent and Xero is down more than 1 percent.

Gold miners are mixed. Northern Star Resources is gaining almost 1 percent and Newmont is adding more than 1 percent. Evolution Mining is edging down 0.5 percent, while Resolute Mining and Genesis Minerals are declining almost 2 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is declining almost 2 percent and ANZ Banking is losing almost 1 percent, while National Australia Bank and Westpac are slipping more than 1 percent each.

In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The RBA is expected to keep its benchmark lending rate steady at 4.35 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.707 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks continued to turn in a strong performance throughout the trading day on Monday after moving sharply higher early in the session. The major averages all showed significant moves to the upside, with the Dow reaching a new record closing high.

The major averages gave back ground going into the end of the day but still posted strong gains. The Nasdaq surged 795.10 points or 3.1 percent to 26,683.94, the S&P 500 jumped 122.83 points or 1.7 percent to 7,554.29 and the Dow advanced 468.77 points or 0.9 percent to 51,671.03.

Meanwhile, the major European markets were mixed on the day. The German DAX Index jumped by 1.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has bucked the uptrend and fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices plummeted Monday after the U.S. and Iran reached an agreement to end their conflict and allow the immediate resumption of trade via the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was down $4.31 or 5.08 percent at $80.57 per barrel.