Australian Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - Adding to the slight losses in the previous two sessions, the Australian stock market is sharply lower on Tuesday, following the broadly negative cues from European markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 7,400 level, with losses across most sectors led by mining and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 90.30 points or 1.21 percent to 7,406.00, after hitting a low of 7,402.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 93.60 points or 1.21 percent to 7,636.50. Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals is losing almost 2 percent, while Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Mineral Resources are declining more than 1 percent each.

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

Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global is declining more than 1 percent, Xero is losing almost 1 percent and Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.4 percent, while Appen is gaining more than 1 percent and Zip is surging more than 8 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining and Resolute Mining are declining almost 2 percent each, while Northern Star resources is losing almost 1 percent. Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.1 percent. Newmont is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are losing almost 1 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.662 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, the markets were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday after closing mixed on Friday.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended lower by 0.39 percent, Germany's DAX drifted down 0.49 percent and France's CAC 40 lost 0.72 percent.