Australian Market Significantly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is significantly lower on Thursday, giving up the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving down to nearly the 6,700 level, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, with technology stocks and miners leading the decline, partially offset by gains in energy stocks amid higher oil prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 69.40 points or 1.02 percent to 6,730.70, after hitting a low of 6,722.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 78.90 points or 1.13 percent to 6,920.90. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are losing almost 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is down more than 1 percent and OZ Minerals is declining almost 2 percent. Mineral Resources is edging up 0.2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is adding almost 2 percent. Woodside Energy surged more than 6 percent after it raised annual production outlook on posting record quarterly revenue and production, while Santos is up almost 2 percent after its third-quarter revenue almost doubled to a record high on strong sales volumes and higher LNG prices. Origin Energy is edging down 0.5 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is plunging more than 8 percent, Appen is down almost 3 percent, Xero is slipping almost 5 percent and WiseTech Global is down 2.5 percent, while Zip is surging more than 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Westpac is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources is losing more than 1 percent, Newcrest Mining is declining more than 2 percent, Gold Road Resources is slipping more than 3 percent and Resolute Mining is down 2.5 percent. Evolution Mining is plunging more than 8 percent after it reported a sequential drop in gold production for the first quarter.

In other news, shares in Novonix are soaring almost 12 after the battery materials maker said it had been selected to enter negotiations to receive US$150 million in grant funding from the US Department of Energy to expand domestic production.

In economic news, the unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.5 percent in September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. That was in line with expectations and unchanged from the August reading. But the Australian economy added just 900 jobs last month - well shy of expectations for an increase of 25,000 following the gain of 33,500 new jobs in August. The participation rate was unchanged and in line with forecasts at 66.6 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.626 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading session on Wednesday after a positive start to the week. The major averages fluctuated early in the session but slid more firmly into negative territory as the day progressed.

The major averages climbed well off their worst levels late in the session but remained in the red. The Dow dipped 99.99 points or 0.3 percent to 30,423.81, the Nasdaq slid 91.89 points or 0.9 percent to 10,680.51 and the S&P 500 fell 24.82 points or 0.7 percent to 3,695.16.

The major European markets also showed a lack of direction over the course of the session before closing modestly lower. While the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both edged down by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday as data showed declines in U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $2.73 or 3.3 percent at $85.55 a barrel.