Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market reversed early gains and is notably lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling to twenty-three month lows below the 6,500 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, dragged by weakness in technology stocks, which extended their losses and tracked their peers on Wall Street.

Traders also remain cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy meeting on Tuesday, where the RBA is expected again hike rates by 25 or 50 basis points.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 40.00 points or 0.62 percent to 6,455.70, after hitting a low of 6,411.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 47.00 points or 0.70 percent to 6,631.70. Australian stocks closed sharply lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals, Rio Tinto and OZ Minerals are edging down 0.4 percent each, while Mineral Resources is losing almost 1 percent. BHP Group is flat.

Oil stocks are higher. Beach energy and Woodside Energy are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent and Santos is adding more than 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing almost 1 percent, Xero is slipping almost 4 percent, Zip is sliding more than 4 percent, WiseTech Global is declining more than 2 percent and Appen is plunging almost 5 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower, Gold Road Resources, Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining are losing more than 2 percent each, while Newcrest Mining is declining more than 1 percent. Resolute Mining is surging almost 5 percent.

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

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in September, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 53.5. That's down from 53.8, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.643 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated in morning trading on Friday before once again coming under pressure over the course of the afternoon. The major averages extended the sharp pullback seen on Thursday, ending the session at their lowest closing levels since late 2020.

The major averages saw further downside going into the close, ending the session just off their worst levels of the day. The Dow plunged 500.10 points or 1.7 percent to 28,725.51, the Nasdaq tumbled 161.89 points or 1.5 percent to 10,575.62 and the S&P 500 slumped 54.85 points or 1.5 percent to 3,585.62.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index jumped by 1.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index surged by 1.5 percent.

Crude oil futures failed to hold early gains and settled lower on Friday as worries about the outlook for energy demand weighed on prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended lower by $1.74 or 2.1 percent at $79.49 a barrel.