Australian Market Notably Lower

The Australian stock market is notably lower on Thursday, extending the losses of the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 below the 7,500 level, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, as traders reacted to US Fed minutes and falling commodity prices. Traders also remain spooked amid concerns about the worsening domestic coronavirus situation, particularly in New South Wales.

NSW has reported 681 new local cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, with more regional areas coming under tougher restrictions. Victoria recorded 57 new locally acquired cases, with active cases now totaling 296 across the state.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 47.20 points or 0.63 percent to 7,454.90, after hitting a low of 7,429.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 48.40 points or 0.62 percent to 7,722.30. Australian markets ended slightly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is losing almost 6 percent, Mineral Resources is plunging almost 8 percent and Rio Tinto is down almost 4 percent, while Fortescue Metals is declining more than 4 percent and OZ Minerals is lower by almost 3 percent.

Oil stocks are lower after crude oil prices tumbled overnight. Santos and Origin Energy are losing more than 1 percent each, while Woodside Petroleum is declining more than 2 percent and Beach Energy is edging down 0.5 percent. Oil Search is flat.

Origin Energy posted a $2.29 billion full-year loss as the COVID-19 pandemic and rapid rise of renewable energy hammered prices across the business.

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

In the tech space, WiseTech Global and Xero are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Afterpay is edging up 0.2 percent and Appen is adding almost 3 percent.

Gold miners are mixed. Evolution Mining is gaining 2.5 percent and Newcrest Mining is adding almost 1 percent, while Resolute Mining is losing more than 3 percent, Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.2 percent and Gold Road Resources is up almost 1 percent.

Newcrest more than doubled its final dividend as part of a $450 million cash bonanza for shareholders after profits rose 17% to $6.3 billion for the full-year.

Casino outfit The Star Entertainment has swung back into the black, reporting a $58 million net profit after tax for the 2021 financial year despite the disruption of COVID-19 shutdowns.

Shares in Star Entertainment are up almost 5 percent after the casino operator swung to profit , reporting a $58 million net profit after tax for the 2021 financial year despite the disruption of COVID-19 shutdowns.

In economic news, the jobless rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 4.6 percent in July, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday – well beneath expectations for 5.0 percent and down from 4.9 percent in June. The Australian economy added 2,200 jobs last month versus expectations for the loss of 46,200 jobs following the addition of 29,100 jobs a month earlier. The participation rate came in at 66.0 percent – in line with expectations and down from 66.2 percent in the previous month.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.723 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks saw considerable volatility following the release of the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday before moving sharply lower going into the close. With the late-day sell-off, the major averages extended the notable drop seen in the previous session.

The major averages finished the session just off their worst levels of the day. The Dow plunged 382.59 points or 1.1 percent to 34,960.69, the Nasdaq slumped 130.27 points or 0.9 percent to 14,525.91 and the S&P 500 tumbled 47.81 points or 1.1 percent to 4,400.27.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in another mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Wednesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand amid the surge in the delta variant of the coronavirus in several countries. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.13 or 1.7 percent at $65.46 a barrel, the lowest close since May 21.

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