Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is notably lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ataying a tad above the 7,100 level, following the broadly negative cues from global markets on Friday, with weakness in technology and energy stocks partially offset by gains in gold miners.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 42.10 points or 0.59 percent to 7,102.60, after hitting a low of 7,071.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 46.50 points or 0.63 percent to 7,301.70. Australian stocks closed sharply lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is edging up 0.5 percent, Fortescue Metals is gaining almost 1 percent and BHP Group is adding more than 1 percent, while Mineral Resources is losing almost 2 percent. OZ Minerals is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent, Origin Energy is declining more than 1 percent and Woodside Energy is edging down 0.4 percent. Santos is edging up 0.1 percent

Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global and Xero are declining almost 3 percent each, while Appen and Zip are losing almost 5 percent each. Afterpay owner Block is down almost 2 percent.

Gold miners are higher. Gold Road Resources and Evolution Mining are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is surging almost 5 percent, Newcrest Mining is adding more than 3 percent and Resolute Mining is up almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.4 percent, while National Australia Bank and Westpac are edging down 0.2 percent each. ANZ Banking is losing almost 1 percent. In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.662 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks tumbled on Friday and the major averages all ended notably lower as concerns about the potential fallout from the implosions of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Silvergate Capital triggered a sell-off in the financial sector. Investors also digested the crucial non-farm payroll data for the month of February.

The major averages finished the session sharply lower. The Dow ended down 345.22 points or 1.07 percent at 31,909.64. The S&P 500 closed lower by 56.73 points or 1.45 percent at 3,861.59, while the Nasdaq dropped 199.47 points or 1.76 percent to settle at 11,138.89.

The major European markets also moved sharply to the downside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 1.67 percent, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC ended lower by 1.31 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Friday on Russia's decision to trim oil output by 500,000 barrels per day in March. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $0.96 or 1.3 percent at $76.68 a barrel, rebounding after three successive days of losses.