Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying above the 7,600 level, with weakness in gold miners and financial stocks partially offset by gains in iron ore miners, technology and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 23.40 points or 0.31 percent to 7,585.00, after hitting a low of 7,584.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 20.20 points or 0.26 percent to 7,839.80. Australian stocks ended significantly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources is adding more than 2 percent and BHP Group is advancing almost 1 percent, while Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent. Fortescue Metals is gaining more than 3 percent after reporting a jump in half-yearly net profit and sales. It also boosted dividend 44%.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is adding more than 1 percent. Beach energy is flat.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Xero are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Appen is gaining almost 3 percent and Zip is adding more than 1 percent. WiseTech Global is losing almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking, Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Gold Road Resources are losing almost 1 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is declining more than 3 percent. Newmont is edging up 0.4 percent and Resolute Mining is flat.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia fell into contraction in February, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Thursday with a manufacturing PMI score of 47.7. That's down from 50.1 in January, and it slips beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The survey also showed that the services PMI climbed to 52.8 in February from 49.1 in January. The composite index also improved, rising to 51.8 in February from 49.0 in January.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.656 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks spent most of Wednesday's session in the red but staged a notable recovery attempt going into the close of trading. The Dow and the S&P 500 bounced well off their worst levels and into positive territory, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq still closed lower for the third straight session.

While the Nasdaq fell 49.91 points or 0.3 percent to 15,580.90, the Dow inched up 48.44 points or 0.1 percent to 38,612.24 and the S&P 500 crept up 6.29 points or 0.1 percent to 4,981.80.

The major European markets also finished the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index rose by 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices rebounded from early losses and settled higher on Wednesday as concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East outweighed weak outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $0.87 or 1.1 percent at $77.91 a barrel.