Australian Market Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - Adding to the losses in the previous session, the Australian stock market is trading slightly lower on Tuesday, despite the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying well below the 7,800 level, with weakness is financial stocks as traders cautiously await the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's June monetary policy meeting.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 3.90 points or 0.05 percent to 7,746.80, after hitting a low of 7,737.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 3.80 points or 0.05 percent to 7,988.50. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is edging up 0.1 percent, while Fortescue Metals is edging down 0.2 percent and Mineral Resources is losing almost 1 percent. Rio Tinto is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy is gaining more than 2 percent and Santos is adding almost 1 percent, while Beach energy and Origin Energy are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Appen is gaining more than 2 percent, Zip is edging up 0.2 percent and WiseTech Global is adding more than 1 percent, while Afterpay owner Block is declining 1.5 percent. Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources is adding almost 1 percent, Resolute Mining is gaining almost 3 percent, Northern Star resources is edging up 0.4 percent and Evolution Mining is up 1.5 percent, while Newmont is edging down 0.1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking Bank and Westpac are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while National Australia Bank is losing almost 1 percent.

In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia will on Tuesday release the minutes from its June 18 monetary policy meeting. At the meeting, the RBA left its benchmark rate at a 12-year high of 4.35 percent for a fifth straight meeting and underscored that inflation is slowing more slowly than anticipated, leaving the door open for a possible rate hike.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.665 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Monday, with technology shares turning in a fine performance. The major averages all started off on a somewhat weak note in lackluster trade, but turned positive with stocks gaining in strength gradually as the session progressed.

The Dow ended higher by 50.66 points or 0.13 percent, at 39,169.52. The S&P 500 advanced 14.61 points or 0.27 percent to 5,475.09, while the Nasdaq climbed 146.70 points or 0.83 percent to 17,879.30.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. Germany's DAX gained 0.3 percent, and France's CAC 40 ended up 1.09 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.03 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Monday, on expectations of higher demand, supply concerns and production cuts by OPEC. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended higher by $1.84 or about 2.2 percent at $83.38 a barrel.