Australian Market Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is trading slightly lower in choppy trading on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying below the 8,800 level, with a mixed performance across most sectors.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 2.30 points or 0.03 percent to 8,762.20, after hitting a low of 8,737.90 and a high of 8,774.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 9.70 points or 0.11 percent to 9,047.90. Australian stocks ended significantly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is advancing more than 3 percent and BHP Group is gaining almost 3 percent, while Mineral Resources and Fortescue are losing almost 1 percent each.

Oil stocks are mixed. Beach energy and Woodside Energy are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Origin Energy and Santos are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 1 percent and Appen is adding more than 1 percent, while WiseTech Global and Zip are losing almost 1 percent each. Xero is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.3 percent, while National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each.

Among gold miners, Newmont and Gold Road Resources are edging up 0.1 percent each, while Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent. Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.4 percent and Resolute Mining is losing almost 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.659 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks saw further downside during trading on Wednesday after coming under pressure over the course of the previous session. The major averages showed a lack of direction early in the session but slid more firmly into negative territory as the day progressed.

The major averages finished the day off their worst levels but still moderately lower. The Dow slid 171.50 points or 0.4 percent at 46,121.28, the Nasdaq fell 75.62 points or 0.3 percent to 22,497.86 and the S&P 500 dipped 18.95 points or 0.3 percent to 6,637.97.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index crept up by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index increased by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices soared on Wednesday due to the increasing likelihood of Russian oil exports facing heavy U.S. sanctions. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for November delivery was up $1.61 or 2.54 percent at $65.02 per barrel.