Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian market are extending the losses in the previous session and is modestly lower on Monday, following the mostly negative cues from global markets on Friday, The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 7,000 mark, with losses in financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in gold miners and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 13.40 points or 0.19 percent to 7,037.60, after hitting a low of 7,031.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 17.90 points or 0.25 percent to 7,225.60. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 1 percent and BHP Group is edging up 0.2 percent, while Fortescue Metals is edging down 0.2 percent and Mineral Resources is losing almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is edging up 0.3 percent and Beach energy is adding almost 2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 4 percent and Appen is declining almost 4 percent, while WiseTech Global Zip and Xero are down almost 3 percent each.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources, Newcrest Mining and Northern Star Resources are gaining almost 5 percent each, while Evolution Mining is adding more than 3 percent and Resolute Mining is advancing more than 4 percent. Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Westpac is losing almost 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.631 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading on day on Friday, extending the pullback seen during Thursday's session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a steep drop on the day, while the Dow managed to close modestly higher.

The Nasdaq tumbled 166.98 points or 1.2 percent to 13,407.23 and the S&P 500 slid 21.83 points or 0.5 percent to 4,327.78. Meanwhile, the narrower Dow inched up 39.15 points or 0.1 percent to 33,670.29.

The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index tumbled by 1.4 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Friday amid rising concerns about the potential impact on global crude supplies due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November spiked $4.78 or 5.8 percent at $87.69 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained 6 percent in the week.