Australian Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is sharply lower in post-holiday trading on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 7,600 level, with weakness across most sectors led by iron ore miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 92.40 points or 1.20 percent to 7,590.60, after hitting a low of 7,575.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 87.50 points or 1.10 percent to 7,850.00. Australian markets ended relatively flat on Wednesday ahead of a holiday on Thursday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is edging up 0.2 percent and Fortescue Metals is gaining almost 2 percent, while Mineral Resources is declining almost 3 percent and BHP Group is slipping more than 4 percent after revealing a $39 billion bid for rival Anglo American. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy and Santos are edging down 0.3 percent each, while Woodside Energy is losing almost 1 percent. Beach energy is edging up 0.4 percent.

Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global is losing more than 1 percent, Afterpay owner Block is slipping more than 3 percent, Xero is down almost 1 percent and Appen is declining almost 4 percent, while Zip is edging up 0.4 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are losing more than 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank down almost 1 percent and ANZ Banking is declining almost 2 percent. Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is edging up 0.5 percent. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 1 percent.

Shares in Newmont are skyrocketing more than 14 percent on reports it will divest its Fruta del Norte asset for US$360 million to Lundin Gold as part of its strategy to optimise its portfolio of gold mines after the acquisition of Newcrest.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.652 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks regained ground over the course of the trading day on Thursday but remained mostly lower after moving sharply lower early in the session. The major averages all finished the day in negative territory after ending Wednesday's trading narrowly mixed.

The Dow slumped 375.12 points or 1.0 percent to 38,085.80 after plunging by more than 700 points in early trading. The Nasdaq slid 100.99 points or 0.6 percent to 15,611.76 and the S&P 500 fell 23.21 points or 0.5 percent at 5,048.42.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.9 percent and the German DAX Index slumped by 1.0 percent.

Crude oil prices settled higher on Thursday, recovering from recent losses, despite data showing slower than expected U.S. first-quarter GDP growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.76 or about 0.92% at $83.57 a barrel.