Australian Market Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is trading slightly lower on Thursday after opening well in the green, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying well below the 8,400 level, as upbeat domestic jobs data dim hopes for an early interest rate cut in early 2025.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 5.10 points or 0.06 percent to 8,348.50, after touching a high of 8,386.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 3.60 points or 0.04 percent to 8,606.80. Australian stocks ended notably lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources is gaining almost 1 percent, while Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each. BHP Group is edging down 0.1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Santos are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent, while Beach energy is surging more than 7 percent. Origin Energy is losing almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 4 percent, WiseTech Global is up more than 1 percent and Appen is advancing almost 4 percent, while Zip and Xero are adding almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while ANZ Banking is edging down 0.1 percent. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent and Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.5 percent, while Resolute Mining and Newmont are adding more than 1 percent each. Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.3 percent.

In economic news, the unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.9 percent in November, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. That was lower than forecasts for 4.2 percent and down from 4.1 percent in October. The participation rate was 67.0, shy of expectations for 67.1 percent - which would have been unchanged.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.641 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday, rebounding strongly following the pullback seen to start the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a particularly strong upward move, closing above 20,000 for the first time.

The Nasdaq surged 347.65 points or 1.8 percent to a new record closing high of 20,034.89, while the S&P 500 climbed 49.28 points or 0.8 percent to 6,084.19. Meanwhile, the narrower Dow showed a lack of direction over the course of the session before closing down 99.27 points or 0.2 percent at 44,148.56.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose increased by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices settled higher Wednesday on possible sanctions on Russia by the European Union, expectations of increased demand from China and data showing a jump in gasoline stockpiles. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January closed up $1.70 or 2.5 percent at $70.29 a barrel.