The Australian stock market is sharply lower on Friday, giving up the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 7,200 level, following the sell-off overnight on Wall Street, with weakness in materials and energy stocks amid falling commodity prices. Technology stocks also mirrored their US peers on tech-heavy Nasdaq lower.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 189.50 points or 2.57 percent to 7,175.20, after hitting a low of 7,175.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 199.40 points or 2.61 percent to 7,439.80. Australian markets ended significantly higher on Thursday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are losing more than 2 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is down more than 1 percent, OZ Minerals is sliding more than 3 percent and BHP Group is declining almost 2 percent.
Oil stocks are lower. Woodside Petroleum is losing more than 2 percent, Beach energy is slipping almost 4 percent, Origin Energy is edging down 0.5 percent and Santos is declining almost 2 percent.
Among tech stocks, WiseTech Global is losing almost 4 percent, Zip is slipping almost 2 percent, Xero is plunging more than 7 percent and Appen is declining 4.5 percent. Afterpay owner Block is sliding more than 2 percent.
Among the big four banks, Westpac is losing more than 1 percent and Commonwealth Bank is declining almost 2 percent, while National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.5 percent each.
Gold miners are weak. Evolution Mining is losing more than 2 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining are declining almost 2 percent each. Gold Road Resources and Resolute Mining are slipping almost 3 percent each.
In other news, shares in Macquarie are down almost 6 percent despite reporting a full-year profit that jumped 56 percent and topped analyst estimates. It also boosted dividend. However, the company provided a weak outlook for the next year.
Shares in News Corp are losing more than 8 percent after it announced a hike in prices at its sports streaming service Kayo.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.710 on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a substantial move back to the downside on Thursday following the rally seen going into the close of Wednesday’s trading. The major averages more than offset yesterday’s gains, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunging to its lowest closing level in well over a year.
The major averages climbed off their worst levels in late-day trading but still posted steep losses. The Dow dove 1,063.09 points or 3.1 percent to 32,997.97, the Nasdaq plummeted 647.16 points or 5 percent to 12,317.69 and the S&P 500 tumbled 153.30 points or 3.6 percent to 4,146.87.
Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed after an early rally. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index declined by 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday, benefitting from the European Union proposal to impose sanctions on Russian oil, although prices pared some gains as the dollar rebounded on safe haven buying. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.45 or 0.4 percent at $108.26 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Australian Market Sharply Lower
2022-05-06 01:32:54
