Australian Market Marginally Lower

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading marginally lower on Wednesday, giving up some of the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying below the 7,700 level, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks after the Reserve Bank of Australia held interest rates steady but warned the economy remained overheated.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 2.20 points or 0.03 percent to 7,678.40, after hitting a low of 7,643.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 2.20 points or 0.03 percent to 7,887.90. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

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

Oil stocks are mixed. Origin Energy is losing almost 1 percent and Santos is edging down 0.4 percent, while Woodside Energy is gaining almost 1 percent. Beach energy is flat. In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 4 percent, Zip is declining more than 2 percent and Appen is slipping almost 4 percent, while WiseTech Global and Xero are edging down 0.2 to 0.3 percent each.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Westpac are losing almost 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.5 percent. ANZ Banking is edging up 0.2 percent.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are losing more than 1 percent each, while Gold Road Resources declining almost 2 percent. Newmont is gaining almost 1 percent. Resolute Mining is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.653 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Tuesday, recovering well after three successive days of losses, as investors shrugged off fears of a recession and geopolitical concerns, and chose to indulge in some buying at reduced levels. Investors also reacted positively to the latest batch of corporate earnings news.

The major averages all closed on a firm note. The Dow ended up 294.39 points or 0.76 percent at 38,997.66, the S&P 500 closed up by $53.70 points or 1.04 percent at 5,240.03 and the Nasdaq settled higher by 166.77 points or 1.03 percent at 16,366.85.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended mixed on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.23 percent and Germany's DAX edged down 0.09 percent, and France's CAC 40 lost 0.27 percent.

Crude oil prices settled modestly higher on Tuesday, snapping a four-session losing streak, as the shutdown of Libya's 270,000 barrel per day Sharara oil field offered mild support. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $0.26 or 0.36 percent at $73.20 a barrel.