Australian Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading sharply lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 7,900 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 101.60 points or 1.28 percent to 7,860.70, after hitting a low of 7,843.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 117.40 points or 1.43 percent to 8,074.30. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, Mineral Resources is sliding almost 6 percent, Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is declining more than 2 percent. BHP Group is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly weak. Beach energy and Origin Energy are edging down 0.2 to 0.3 percent each, while Woodside Energy is edging up 0.2 percent. Santos is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is sliding almost 8 percent , Zip is plunging more than 7 percent and WiseTech Global is losing more than 4 percent, while Xero and Appen are slipping more than 5 percent each.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining and Northern Star resources are losing more than 3 percent each, while Resolute Mining is declining almost 6 percent, Newmont is declining more than 4 percent and Gold Road Resources is slipping more than 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is losing almost 1 percent and National Australia Bank is edging down 0.3 percent, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each.

In other news, shares in Star Entertainment are still under a trading halt amid financial rescue plan as US casino giant Bally's offered to buy a controlling stake in the beleaguered casino operator.

Shares in Nickel Industries are tumbling more than 22 percent after news the Indonesian government is considering a major overhaul of its mining royalty system. The company operates a portfolio of mining and downstream nickel processing assets.

Shares in PolyNovo are slipping more than 9 percent after it said chief executive Swami Raote would step down with immediate effect. In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.628 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks tumbled on Monday and the major averages all closed sharply lower, with the tech-laden Nasdaq recording a more pronounced losses. Uncertainty about President Donald Trump's tariff moves, fears of a recession in the world's largest economy, and weak global growth outlook weighed on investor sentiment.

Among the major averages, the Dow closed down 890.01 points or 2.08 percent, at 41,911.71. The S&P 500 ended lower by 155.64 points or 2.7 percent, at 5,614.56, while the Nasdaq dropped 727.90 points or 4 percent to 17,468.32.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down 0.92 percent, Germany's DAX settled 1.6 percent down, and France's CAC 40 closed down 0.9 percent.

Crude oil prices fell to six-month lows on Monday as worries about global economic growth and fears of a U.S. recession fueled demand concerns. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures settled lower by $1.01 or 1.5 percent at $66.03 a barrel, the lowest settlement since September 10, 2024.