Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading modestly lower on Wednesday after opening in the green, reversing the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying well below the 8,900 level, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in energy and financial stocks partially offset by gains in mining and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 22.30 points or 0.34 percent to 8,858.50, after touching a high of 8,890.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 14.60 points or 0.16 percent to 9,135.70. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

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

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy is down more than 1 percent, Santos is edging down 0.3 percent and Beach energy is declining 2.5 percent. Woodside Energy is flat.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 1 percent, Zip is advancing more than 2 percent, WiseTech Global is adding 1.5 percent and Appen is up almost 1 percent, while Xero is edging down 0.1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are losing almost 1 percent each, while National Australia bank is declining more than 4 percent. ANZ Banking is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is surging more than 5 percent on upbeat full-year results, Resolute Mining is gaining more than 1 percent and Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.5 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Newmont are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.

In other news, shares in Tyro Payments are jumping more than 8 percent after it said it had received unsolicited and non-binding interest from separate parties regarding a potential acquisition.

Shares in AGL Energy are tumbling almost 12 percent amid downbeat full-year results due to lower wholesale power prices and tightening retail margins amid fierce competition.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.653 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Tuesday after ending Monday's choppy trading session moderately lower. The major averages more than offset the losses posted in the previous session, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reaching new record closing highs.

The major averages ended the session near their best levels of the day. The Nasdaq surged 296.50 points or 1.4 percent to 21,681.90, the S&P 500 jumped 72.31 points or 1.1 percent to 6,445.76 and the Dow shot up 483.52 points or 1.1 percent to 44,458.61.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in another mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index crept up by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices slumped on Tuesday ahead of an upcoming meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents on Friday in Alaska. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $0.88 or 1.38 percent at $63.08 per barrel.