Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is trading notably lower on Thursday, reversing the gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 8,750 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks. Energy stocks were the only bright spot.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 64.60 points or 0.74 percent to 8,721.10, after hitting a low of 8,715.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 71.10 points or 0.79 percent to 8,946.10. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is declining more than 3 percent, Fortescue is slipping more than 2 percent, BHP Group is losing more than 1 percent and Mineral Resources is down almost 1 percent.

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

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is tumbling almost 6 percent, Appen is slipping more than 2 percent and WiseTech Global is losing almost 4 percent, while Zip and Xero are down more than 3 percent each.

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

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is losing almost 2 percent, Northern Star Resources is declining more than 3 percent, Newmont is down almost 1 percent, Genesis Minerals is slipping more than 2 percent and Resolute Mining is sliding almost 3 percent.

In other news, shares in Treasury Wine Estates are surging almost 11 percent after an Investor Day update revealed a strategic transformation aiming to become a more focused, simpler, and financially stronger wine business through a program called Ascent through cutting costs, simplifying operations, reshaping its supply chain and strengthening its balance sheet.

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

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading session on Wednesday, giving back ground after trending higher over the past several sessions. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the Dow showing a notable slump.

The Dow showed a downward move going into the end of the day, closing down 620.72 points or 1.2 percent at 50,687.07. The Nasdaq also slid 239.93 points or 0.9 percent to 26,853,98, while the S&P 500 fell 56.10 points or 0.7 percent to 7,553.68.

The major European markets all also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped 1.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices soared on Wednesday as fresh military strikes in the Middle East renew war concerns as the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked for oil and energy trade. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was up $2.31 or 2.46 percent at $96.07 per barrel.