The Australian stock market is notably lower on Friday, extending losses from the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 6,700 level as gains in energy stocks were more than offset by weakness among technology stocks. The cues overnight from Wall Street were also negative as rising treasury yields stoked concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 76.30 points or 1.13 percent to 6,684.40, after touching a low of 6,660.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is lower by 90.90 points or 1.30 percent to 6,909.70. Australian stocks closed lower on Thursday.
The major miners are weak. Fortescue Metals is down almost 1 percent, Rio Tinto is declining almost 3 percent and BHP Group is losing nearly 2 percent.
Oil stocks are higher after crude oil prices increased overnight. Woodside Petroleum is adding more than 2 percent, Oil Search is gaining almost 3 percent and Santos is higher by more than 4 percent.
Among the big four banks, Westpac, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are all edging down below 0.6 percent, while ANZ Banking is edging up 0.3 percent.
Losses on the tech-heavy Nasdaq pulled down local peers, with Afterpay losing more than 5 percent and WiseTech Global declining more than 3 percent, while Appen is down almost 4 percent.
Gold miners are lower as gold prices hit a nine-month low. Evolution Mining is sliding more than 2 percent, while Newcrest Mining is down more than 1 percent. Northern Star Resources is declining nearly 2 percent.
In economic news, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed that the services sector in Australia expanded in February, with a seasonally adjusted Performance of Service Index score of 58.8, the highest reading since June of 2018. That’s up from 54.3 in January and it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.769 on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks saw substantial volatility during trading on Thursday, with a sell-off seen in early afternoon trading resulting in a sharply lower close for the markets. With the steep drop on the day, the major averages extended the substantial move to the downside seen over the two previous sessions. The Dow and the S&P 500 slumped to their lowest closing levels in a month, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged to a two-month closing low.
The major averages all posted steep losses on the day, although the Nasdaq underperformed its counterparts. The Nasdaq plummeted 274.28 points or 2.1 percent to 12,723.47, while the Dow tumbled 345.95 points or 1.1 percent to 30,924.14 and the S&P 500 dove 51.25 points or 1.3 percent to 3,768.47.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on Thursday. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index dipped by 0.2 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index ended the day nearly unchanged.
Crude oil futures moved sharply higher on Thursday, lifted by an announcement by the OPEC+ would keep production steady for now. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for April ended higher by $2.55 or about 4.2% at $63.83 a barrel, recovering well after early weakness.
Market Analysis
Australian Market Extends Losses
2021-03-05 01:29:00
