Australian Markets Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is slightly lower on Monday, extending the slight losses in the previous session, following the mixed 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 mining stocks and a mixed performance in most other sectors.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 12.30 points or 0.14 percent to 8,718.90, after hitting a low of 8,681.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 13.00 points or 0.15 percent to 8,909.70. Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group, Fortescue and Rio Tinto are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is edging up 0.4 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is edging up 0.2 percent and Santos is gaining more than 1 percent, while Woodside Energy is edging down 0.3 percent. Origin Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.1 percent. Xero and WiseTech Global are losing almost 1 percent each, while Zip and Appen are gaining more than 1 percent each.

Gold miners are mixed. Genesis Minerals is adding almost 1 percent and Evolution Mining is edging up 0.5 percent, while Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.1 percent, Newmont is losing almost 2 percent and Resolute Mining is slipping more than 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are edging down 0.1 percent each, while ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each.

In other news, shares in Perpetual Ltd. are tumbling almost 13 percent after rejecting a sweetened takeover proposal from EQT Group and confirmed the end of discussions.

Shares in Telix Pharmaceuticals are slipping almost 7 percent after announcing a $3.3 billion merger with German company ITM.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.713 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Friday following the rally seen during Thursday's session. The major averages swung back and forth across the unchanged line before ending the day mixed.

While the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended the day in positive territory, the narrower Dow posted a modest loss on the day. The Nasdaq climbed 104.25 points or 0.4 percent to 26,522.55 and the S&P 500 rose 12.74 points or 0.2 percent to 7,650.50, but the Dow dipped 95.40 points or 0.2 percent to 51,682.64.

Meanwhile, the major European markets pulled back sharply on the day. While the German DAX Index tumbled by 1.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both slumped by 1.5 percent.

Crude oil prices slumped on Friday, extending losses as investors anticipate upcoming meetings between the U.S. and gulf leaders to de-escalate Middle East tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was down $1.74 or 1.71 percent at $100.17 per barrel.