Australian Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is trading sharply lower on Thursday, reversing the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 8,500 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks. Energy stocks were the only bright spot amid spiking crude oil prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 136.10 points or 1.58 percent to 8,504.50, after hitting a low of 8,495.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 146.00 points or 1.65 percent to 8,701.70. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Wednesday.

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

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is adding more than 3 percent, Beach energy is gaining more than 3 percent, Woodside Energy is surging almost 5 percent and Origin Energy is edging up 0.3 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is declining almost 4 percent, Xero is losing almost 2 percent, Appen is slipping more than 5 percent, WiseTech Global is sliding more than 4 percent and Zip is tumbling almost 7 percent.

Among the big four banks, Westpac is losing almost 1 percent, while Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.

Among gold miners, Resolute Mining is sliding more than 7 percent, Northern Star Resources is declining more than 8 percent, Newmont is slipping more than 5 percent, Genesis Minerals is tumbling more than 10 percent and Evolution Mining is sliding almost 8 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.703 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, largely offsetting the upward move seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages all showed significant moves to the downside, with the Dow and the S&P 500 dropping to nearly four-month lows.

The major averages ended the day just off their lows of the session. The Dow plunged 768.11 points or 1.6 percent to 46,225.15, the Nasdaq tumbled 327.11 points or 1.5 percent to 22,152.42 and the S&P 500 slumped 91.39 points or 1.4 percent to 6,624.70.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.9 percent and the German DAX Index slumped by 1.0 percent.

Crude oil prices ticked lower on Wednesday after Iraq said it has resumed oil production, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz by going through Turkey. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery eased $0.18 or 0.19 percent at $96.39 per barrel.