Australian Market Slightly Lower

The Australian stock market is slightly lower in choppy trading on Friday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying below the 7,100 level, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, as traders reacted weak earnings update and revenue guidance from Facebook parent Meta as well as the monetary policy announcements from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.

Traders also remain concerned over the domestic Covid-19 cases, though on a steady decline. New South Wales records 10,698 new cases and 31 deaths on Thursday. Victoria reported 11,240 new cases and 36 deaths, Queensland recorded 6,857 new cases and 13 deaths, Tasmania reported 570 new cases, South Australia reported 1,300 new cases and three deaths, and ACT reported 449 new cases and one death.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 9.60 points or 0.14 percent to 7,068.40, after hitting a low of 7,056.60 and a high of 7,104.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 7.40 points or 0.10 percent to 7,367.20. Australian markets ended slightly lower on Thursday.

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

Oil stocks are mixed. Santos is edging down 0.3 percent, while Origin Energy is edging up 0.5 percent and Beach energy is gaining more than 1 percent. Woodside Petroleum is flat

Among tech stocks, Appen, Xero, WiseTech Global and Zip are all gaining more than 1 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Westpac is gaining more than 2 percent and Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.3 percent, while ANZ Banking is losing almost 1 percent and National Australia Bank is edging down 0.3 percent.

Gold miners are lower. Evolution Mining is edging up 0.1 percent and Gold Road Resources is gaining more than 2 percent, while Northern Star Resources is losing almost 1 percent. Newcrest Mining and Resolute Mining are flat.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation reported a 13 percent uptick in revenue to $3.8 billion for the December quarter. The stock is up more than 4 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.714 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks ended sharply lower on Thursday, snapping a four-day winning streak, as disappointing earnings news and weak revenue guidance from Facebook parent Meta triggered widespread selling.

The major averages all ended with sharp losses. The Dow ended down by 518.17 points or about 1.45 percent at 35,111.16, not far off from the session’s low of 35,071.06. The S&P 500 declined 111.95 points or 2.44 percent to 4,477.43, while the tech-laden Nasdaq settled at 13,878.82, posting a loss of 538.73 points or 3.74 percent.

The major European markets all also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 declined 0.71 percent, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 shed 1.57 percent and 1.54 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices surged on Thursday as concerns about possible supply disruptions outweighed OPEC’s decision to increase crude output in March. Geopolitical concerns in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have raised concerns about supplies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $2.01 or 2.3 percent at a seven-year high $90.27 a barrel.

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