Australian Market Modestly Lower

The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,300 level, following the mostly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday, weighed down by weakness in miners, technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 17.30 points or 0.24 percent to 7,322.80, after hitting a low of 7,304.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 14.90 points or 0.20 percent to 7,539.30. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is declining almost 2 percent. Fortescue Metals is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos and Origin Energy are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Woodside Energy is adding more than 1 percent. Beach energy is sliding almost 5 percent after reporting a 24 percent drop in annual net profit.

Among tech stocks, Xero and WiseTech Global are losing almost 1 percent each, while Afterpay owner Block and Zip are declining almost 2 percent each. Appen is gaining almost 3 percent.

Gold miners are mostly mixed. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 1 percent and Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.3 percent, while Newcrest Mining is gaining almost 1 percent and Evolution Mining is edging up 0.3 percent. Resolute Mining is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are losing almost 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each.

In other news, shares in Carsales.com surged almost 5 percent climbed after its annual profit tripled from last year following acquisitions of US-based Trader Interactive and Brazil’s Webmotors.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.647 on Monday.

On Wall Street, the major U.S. stock indexes turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday following the release of slightly more than expected producer price inflation data.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 93.14 points or 0.6 percent to 13,644.85, ending the session at its lowest closing level in well over a month. The S&P also edged down 4.78 points or 0.1 percent to a one-month closing low of 4,464.05, while the narrower Dow rose 105.25 points or 0.3 percent to 35,281.40.

Meanwhile, the major European markets showed notable moves to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped 1.0 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.2 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Friday after a report from the International Energy Agency forecast strong demand for oil and tightening supplies in the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $0.37 at $83.19 a barrel.

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