Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading notably lower on Wednesday, adding to the losses in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling well below the 8,900 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in mining stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 43.60 points or 0.49 percent to 8,857.00, after hitting a low of 8,848.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 43.20 points or 0.47 percent to 9,124.80. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Fortescue and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while Mineral Resources is edging down 0.4 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Woodside Energy and Beach energy are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Santos is edging down 0.4 percent and Origin Energy is losing more than 3 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is declining more than 4 percent, Xero is sliding almost 4 percent and WiseTech Global is losing more than 1 percent, while Appen and Zip are slipping almost 1 percent each.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and National Australia bank are losing almost 1 percent each, while Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are declining more than 1 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Gold Road Resources are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is edging up 0.3 percent, Northern Star Resources is advancing more than 2 percent. Newmont is edging down 0.1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.651 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks regained some ground over the course of the trading day on Tuesday but remained firmly negative after initially showing a significant move to the downside. The major averages all moved notably lower, extending the pullback seen during last Friday's session.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped 175.92 points or 0.8 percent to 21,279.63 but had tumbled by as much as 1.5 percent in early trading. The S&P 500 slid 44.72 points or 0.7 percent to 6,415.54, while the Dow fell 249.07 points or 0.6 percent to 42,295.81.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index plunged by 2.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices jumped on Tuesday on concerns about supply disruptions increased following strikes on Russian energy sites by Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.51 or 2.36 percent at $65.52 per barrel.