Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading notably lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling to near the 8,400 level, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in financial, energy stocks and technology stocks partially offset by gains in mining stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 57.40 points or 0.68 percent to 8,423.60, after hitting a low of 8,389.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 51.50 points or 0.59 percent to 8,705.20. Australian stocks ended significantly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 1 percent, Rio Tinto is adding more than 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is advancing 1.5 percent, while Mineral Resources is slipping more than 10 percent after reporting downbeat half-yearly results.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is losing almost 1 percent, Beach energy is down more than 1 percent and Santos is declining more than 2 percent, while Origin is edging up 0.3 percent.

In the tech space, Appen is losing more than 2 percent, WiseTech Global is down almost 1 percent and Xero is edging down 0.5 percent, while Afterpay owner Block is edging up 0.2 percent and Zip is gaining more than 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is declining more than 2 percent, Westpac is edging down 0.4 percent, ANZ Banking is losing more than 1 percent and National Australia Bank is slipping almost 7 percent after profitability eroded over the December quarter, due to higher funding costs and continued competition for loans and deposits.

Among gold miners, Resolute Mining is gaining 3.5 percent, Newmont is adding more than 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is up almost 1 percent, Gold Road Resources is rising 2.5 percent and Evolution Mining is advancing more than 2 percent.

In other news, shares in Ventia Services are surging almost 6 percent after reporting a 16 percent rise in annual net profit that came in ahead of guidance.

Shares in Corporate Travel are climbing almost 10 percent, despite reporting that first-half profit dropped by a third, due to issues with its European division's travel booking and accommodation business.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.635 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading session on Tuesday, extending the lackluster performance seen during last Friday's session. The major averages moved to the upside going into end the day, however, with the S&P 500 reaching a new record closing high.

The major averages all posted modest gains on the day. The S&P 500 rose 14.95 points or 0.2 percent to 6,129.58, the Nasdaq inched up 14.49 points or 0.1 percent to 20,041.26 and the Dow crept up 10.26 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 44,556.34.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both rose by 0.2 percent, U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index ended the day nearly unchanged.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday on supply concerns after Ukraine launched a drone attack on an export pipeline in Russia. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled at $71.85 a barrel, gaining $1.11, or 1.57 percent.