Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous four sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,400 level, despite the positive cues from global markets on Friday, dragged by miners and technology stocks, partially offset by small gains in energy and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 16.20 points or 0.23 percent to 7,140.50, after hitting a low of 7,134.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 20.40 points or 0.28 percent to 7,337.70. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Mineral Resources is losing more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy, Santos and Beach energy are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Origin Energy is edging down 0.2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 4 percent, WiseTech Global is declining almost 2 percent and Xero is slipping 2.5 percent, while Appen is edging up 0.3 percent. Zip is flat.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 3 percent, Northern Star Resources is declining more than 1 percent, Resolute Mining is sliding almost 6 percent and Newcrest Mining is down almost 1 percent, while Evolution Mining is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while ANZ Banking is gaining almost 1 percent.

In other news, shares is Sims Ltd. are plunging more than 11 percent after the scrap metal recycler forecast earnings to break even in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, due to ongoing scrap price and demand issues.

Shares in Cirrus Networks are skyrocketing almost 32 percent on news the managed services provider is set to be acquired by IT services outfit Atturra.

Shares in Syrah Resources are jumping 17.5 percent after the graphite producer secured a further $150 million or A$234.6 million in funding for its Balama operation in Mozambique.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.640 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading session after an early move to the upside on Friday but managed to close modestly higher. The uptick on the day came on the heels of the downward trend seen over the past few sessions.

The major averages edged higher going into the close of trading. The Dow rose 75.86 points or 0.2 percent to 34,576.59, the Nasdaq inched up 12.69 points or 0.1 percent to 13,761.53 and the S&P 500 crept up 6.35 points or 0.1 percent to 4,457.49.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.5 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices climbed on Friday amid concerns about tightening oil supplies following Russia and Saudi Arabia's decision last week to extend their supply cut to the end of the year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October rose $0.64 or 0.7 percent at $87.51 a barrel.