Australian Market Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is slightly lower on Friday, reversing the slight gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying above the 8,300 level, with a mixed performance in most sectors. Financial and technology stocks were mostly weak, partially offset by gains in gold miners and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 4.10 points or 0.05 percent to 8,322.90, after touching a high of 8,332.80 and low of 8,314.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 4.00 points or 0.05 percent to 8,565.10. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Mineral Resources are down almost 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is losing more than 1 percent. Fortescue Metals is gaining more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is edging up 0.1 percent and Origin Energy is gaining more than 1 percent, while Woodside Energy is edging down 0.2 percent. Beach energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is edging up 0.2 percent and Appen is gaining more than 3 percent, while Zip is losing more than 1 percent, Xero is edging down 0.4 percent and WiseTech Global is down almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are all losing almost 1 percent each. Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining is gaining more than 1 percent, Resolute Mining is adding almost 1 percent, while Newmont and Gold Road Resources are edging up 0.2 to 0.3 percent each. Northern Star Resources is down almost 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.621 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Thursday following the substantial rally seen during Wednesday's session. The major averages fluctuated over the course of the trading day before eventually closing in negative territory.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day more firmly in the red amid a slump by shares of Apple (AAPL), sliding 172.94 points or 0.9 percent to 19,338.29. The Dow and the S&P 500 posted more modest losses. The Dow dipped 68.42 points or 0.2 percent to 43,153.13 and the S&P 500 slipped 12.57 points or 0.2 percent to 5,937.34.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index surged by 2.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.1 percent and the German DAX Index climbed by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Thursday after Israel and Hamas agreed to implement a ceasefire agreement that was drafted and approved by the UN Security Council. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February settled lower by $1.36 or 1.7 percent at $78.68 a barrel.