Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is trading notably lower on Thursday, snapping a five-session winning streak, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 8,000 mark, with weakness in financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in mining and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 44.40 points or 0.56 percent to 7,954.60, after hitting a low of 7,936.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 50.70 points or 0.62 percent to 8,174.40. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources is gaining 3.5 percent, while Rio Tinto and BHP Group are edging up 0.3 percent each. Fortescue Metals is losing almost 1 percent.

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

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 4 percent, Appen is declining almost 2 percent, Zip is slipping 5.5 percent, Xero is down almost 1 percent and WiseTech Global is sliding more than 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are losing almost 1 percent each, while Westpac is edging down 0.1 percent. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is gaining almost 2 percent, Gold Road Resources is advancing almost 5 percent and Newmont is edging up 0.4 percent.

In other news, shares in Reject Shop are skyrocketing almost 110 percent after reports that Canada's Dollarama will acquire the Australian discount retailer at a more than 100 percent premium.

Shares in Core Lithium are surging almost 7 percent after it released a key update on its restart study for the Finniss Lithium Operation in the Northern Territory. The restart study is on track for completion in the June quarter of 2025.

Shares in Healius are soaring more than 11 percent after the pathology services company released a detailed transformation plan and announced plans to pay 41.3 cents per share special dividend.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.630 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, giving back ground after trending higher over the past few sessions. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the pullback amid significant weakness in the technology sector.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained negative. The Nasdaq plunged 372.84 points or 2.0 percent to 17,889.01, the S&P 500 slumped 64.45 points or 1.1 percent to 5,712.20 and the Dow fell 132.71 points or 0.3 percent to 42,454.79.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.0 percent and the German DAX Index tumbled by 1.2 percent.

Crude oil prices moved higher Wednesday on supply concerns after data showed a sharp drop in U.S. crude oil inventories last week, while renewed efforts from the U.S. to limit Venezuelan and Iranian oil exports also boosted prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May closed up $0.65 or about 0.94 percent at $69.65 a barrel.