Australian Market Sharply Lower

The Australian market is sharply lower on Thursday, giving up the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling a tad below the 7,000 mark, with weakness across most sectors led by iron ore miners and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 86.50 points or 1.22 percent to 6,991.10, after hitting a low of 6,969.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 86.70 points or 1.19 percent to 7,179.00. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are losing almost 2 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is down almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is slipping more than 5 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos is edging down 0.1 percent, while Beach energy and Woodside Energy are losing almost 1 percent each. Origin Energy is edging up 0.3 percent.

In the tech space, WiseTech Global is losing almost 1 percent, Xero is down more than 1 percent and Afterpay owner Block is declining more than 2 percent, while Zip is gaining more than 1 percent and Appen is edging up 0.5 percent.

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

Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources is advancing almost 4 percent, Evolution Mining is edging up 0.3 percent and Gold Road Resources is adding almost 1 percent, while Newcrest Mining is edging down 0.2 percent. Resolute Mining is flat.

In economic news, the jobless rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.6 percent in September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. That beat forecasts for 3.7 percent, which would have been unchanged from the August reading.

The Australian economy added 6,700 jobs last month, shy of expectations for an increase of 18,000 following the addition of 64,900 jobs in the previous month. The participation rate was 66.7 percent, below forecasts for 67.0 percent, which would have been unchanged.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.632 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks turned in a weak performance on Wednesday, drifting lower and lower as the session progressed amid rising tensions in the Middle East, and higher bond yields on concerns about the outlook for interest rates. According to reports, a deadly missile attack on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza killed several hundred people including women and children.

The major averages all ended notably lower, with the Nasdaq suffering a more pronounced loss. The Dow ended down 332.57 points or 0.98 percent at 33,665.08. The S&P 500 finished lower by 58.60 points or 1.34 percent at 4,314.60, while the Nasdaq dropped 219.44 points or 1.62 percent to 13,314.30.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended down 1.14 percent, Germany’s DAX drifted down 1.03 percent, and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.91 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday on rising concerns over supplies as geopolitical concerns escalated after the large explosion at the Gaza hospital. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November jumped $1.66 or 1.9 percent at $88.32 a barrel.

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