Australian Market Modestly Lower

The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,000 mark, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, with weakness in technology and financial stocks as traders remain concerned over the outlook for interest rates and rising inflation.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 37.10 points or 0.53 percent to 7,009.80, after hitting a low of 6,993.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 37.80 points or 0.52 percent to 7,249.40. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is edging down 0.3 percent, while Mineral Resources is gaining more than 2 percent, BHP Group is adding more than 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.1 percent. OZ Minerals is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly higher, with Woodside Energy and Santos gaining more than 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is adding almost 1 percent and Beach energy edging up 0.1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Appen is adding almost 1 percent and WiseTech Global is edging up 0.3 percent, while Zip is slipping more than 3 percent, Xero is losing almost 1 percent and Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.5 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Newcrest Mining and Gold Road Resources are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Evolution Mining is gaining more than 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is advancing more than 2 percent and Resolute Mining is rising 3.5 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is losing almost 1 percent, while Westpac, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are declining more than 1 percent each.

In other news, shares in Altium are skyrocketing more than 19 percent after the PCB design software firm reported upbeat full-year results as well as raised revenue outlook and final dividend.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.689 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks tumbled right at the stroke of the opening bell on Monday and stayed weak right through the day’s session, extending losses from the previous session. The Dow and the S&P 500 suffered their worst session since mid-June.

The major averages all ended notably lower. The Dow ended down 643.13 points or 1.91 percent at 33,063.61. The S&P 500 drifted down 90.49 points or 2.14 percent to 4,137.99, while the Nasdaq settled with a loss of 323.64 points or 2.55 percent at 12,381.57.

The major European markets all also moved to the downside on the day. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended 0.22 percent down, Germany’s DAX dropped 2.32 percent, and France’s CAC 40 declined 1.8 percent.

Crude oil prices moved lower on Monday on concerns about outlook for energy demand, while the dollar’s strength also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $0.54 or 0.6 percent at $90.23 a barrel.

Market Analysis