The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Tuesday, giving up the modest gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 7,500 level, following the absence of fresh cues from Wall Street, which was closed overnight for a holiday, with materials and technology stocks dragging the market.
Australia’s two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, are still under lockdown as the nation struggles to contain the domestic coronavirus situation, primarily in New South Wales and Victoria.
NSW has reported 1,220 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 on Monday. Victoria also recorded 246 new locally acquired cases, with the active cases totalling 1,786 across Victoria.
Traders are also not making any big moves as they await the Reserve Bank’s policy decision later in the day, with analysts’ undecided on whether the central bank will put off its tapering plans.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 31.40 points or 0.42 percent to 7,497.10, after hitting a low of 7,994.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 30.90 points or 0.40 percent to 7,792.90. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 1 percent, while Fortescue Metals and Mineral Resources are declining more than 2 percent each. OZ Minerals is down almost 1 percent and Rio Tinto is lower by almost 2 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is gaining almost 1 percent and Origin Energy is adding 0.6 percent, while Woodside Petroleum and Oil Search are edging up 0.2 percent each. Beach energy is losing more than 1 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are flat, while ANZ Banking is edging down 0.1 percent. National Australia Bank is edging down 0.2 percent.
Among tech stocks, Xero is edging up 0.2 percent, while Appen is losing almost 2 percent and WiseTech Global is declining more than 1 percent. Afterpay is flat.
Gold miners are mostly higher. Resolute Mining is gaining 1.5 percent and Gold Road Resources is adding more than 1 percent, while Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.3 percent. Newcrest Mining and Evolution Mining are losing almost 1 percent each.
In economic news, the services sector in Australia contracted 6.1 points in August, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed on Tuesday, with a Performance of Services Index score of 45.6. That’s down from 51.7 in July, and it fell below the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.745 on Tuesday.
Overnight, the U.S. markets were closed for the Labor Day holiday.
The major European markets closed higher on Monday on hopes the Federal Reserve will continue with its easy monetary policy for longer time. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.68 percent, Germany’s DAX climbed up 0.96 percent and France’s CAC 40 surged up 0.8 percent.
Crude oil futures settled lower Monday amid concerns over the outlook for demand after Saudi Arabia, the world’s top exporter, cut its prices for Asian buyers over the weekend. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October tumbled 0.6 percent to $68.89 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Australian Market Modestly Lower
2021-09-07 01:36:26
