Australian Market Significantly Lower

(RTTNews) - Extending the losses in the previous session, the Australian stock market is significantly lower on Tuesday, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 7,600 level, with losses across most sectors led by technology and mining stocks.

Traders are cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy decision later in the day, where it is expected to hold interest rates steady.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 49.40 points or 0.65 percent to 7,576.50, after hitting a low of 7,542.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 52.00 points or 0.66 percent to 7,803.40. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals is losing more than 2 percent and Rio Tinto is edging down 0.3 percent, while BHP Group and Mineral Resources are declining more than 1 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos is edging down 0.1 percent, while Origin Energy and Beach energy are losing almost 1 percent each. Woodside Energy is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global is losing 3.5 percent and Zip is down almost 2 percent, while Afterpay owner Block and Xero are declining more than 2 percent each. Appen is gaining almost 2 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining and Newmont are losing more than 1 percent each, while Northern Star resources is edging down 0.3 percent. Resolute Mining is gaining more than 1 percent and Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is losing more than 1 percent, while ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank and Westpac are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each.

In other news, shares in Nick Scali are jumping 17 percent after the furniture retailer topped its first half profit guidance.

Shares in department store Myer are soaring 12 percent following a positive trading update. It expects net profit to be between $49 million and $53 million for the half year.

Shares in West African Resources are plunging 14 percent after the gold producer it said it expects higher all-in sustaining costs for this year at $1300 per ounce. The miner also lowered its production guidance to a range between 190,000 to 210,000 ounces.

In economic news, the total value of retail sales in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 2.7 percent on month in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday - coming in at A$35.690 billion. That was well shy of forecasts for an increase of 0.1 percent following the 1.6 percent gain in November.

For the fourth quarter of 2023, retail sales rose 0.3 percent on quarter to A$98.301 billion versus expectations for a gain of 0.1 percent, which would have been unchanged from Q3 following a downward revision (originally up 0.2 percent).

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.648 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a significant pullback during morning trading on Monday following the rally seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages staged a recovery attempt over the course of the afternoon but still finished the day in negative territory.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 31.28 points or 0.2 percent to 15,597.68 after falling as much as 1.0 percent in early trading. The S&P 500 fell 15.80 points or 0.3 percent to 4,942.81, while the narrower Dow remained more firmly in the red, closing down 274.30 points or 0.7 percent at 38,380.12.

The major European markets also saw modest weakness on the day. While the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both closed just below the unchanged line.

Crude oil prices settled higher on Monday as concerns about trade and supply disruptions outweighed a firm dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled lower by $0.50 or 0.7 percent a barrel at $72.78 a barrel.