Australian Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading sharply lower on Friday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,850 level, with weakness financial and mining stocks partially offset by gains in energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 107.50 points or 1.20 percent to 8,832.80, after hitting a low of 8,814.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 105.70 points or 1.15 percent to 9,059.20. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are tumbling more than 6 percent each, while Fortescue is declining almost 4 percent and Mineral Resources is losing more than 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy and Santos are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Origin Energy is edging up 0.4 percent. Woodside Energy is losing almost 3 percent. Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is advancing more than 4 percent, WiseTech Global is jumping more than 6 percent, Zip is gaining more than 1 percent, Xero is surging more than 5 percent and Appen is advancing almost 6 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank is losing more than 1 percent and Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.1 percent, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are down almost 1 percent each. Gold miners are weak. Evolution Mining, Resolute Mining and Genesis Minerals are losing more than 4 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is tumbling more than 6 percent and Newmont is declining more than 2 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.702 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved back to the downside during trading on Thursday after turning in a strong performance in the previous session. The major averages all moved lower, with the Dow slumping to its lowest closing level in well over two months.

The major averages saw a notable recovery attempt in the final hour of trading but still closed in negative territory. The Dow tumbled 784.67 points or 1.6 percent to 47,954.74, the S&P 500 slid 38.79 points or 0.6 percent to 6,830.71 and the Nasdaq fell 58.50 points or 0.3 percent to 22,748.99.

The major European markets all also showed significant moves to the downside 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 1.5 percent.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed again on Thursday, resuming the surge seen earlier in the week in reaction to the conflict in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery spiked $6.51 or 8.7 percent to $81.17 a barrel and has soared $14.15 or 21.1 percent so far this week.