Australian Market Significantly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is significantly lower on Friday, reversing the gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to be just above the 8,200 level, with weakness across most sectors led by miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 63.40 points or 0.77 percent to 8,204.80, after hitting a low of 8,193.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 66.80 points or 0.79 percent to 8,439.30. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 2 percent, Rio Tinto is declining almost 3 percent, Fortescue Metals is down almost 2 percent and Mineral Resources is slipping almost 4 percent.

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

Among tech stocks, Xero is declining almost 3 percent, Zip is slipping 4.5 percent, WiseTech Global is down almost 2 percent and Appen is losing almost 5 percent. Afterpay-owner Block is edging up 0.5 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Westpac is edging up 0.4 percent. Gold miners are mostly lower. Gold Road Resources and Resolute Mining are down almost 3 percent each, while Northern Star Resources and Newmont are declining more than 2 percent each. Evolution Mining is losing more than 3 percent.

In other news, shares in Star Entertainment are plummeting more than 15 percent after the casino operator said it is not sure if it can continue to trade beyond Friday, claiming a range of conditions need to be met to continue to be operational. Shares in Endeavour Group are tumbling more than 6 percent after its interim profit fell 15.1 percent, driving the retailer and hotel operator to lower its dividend by 12.6 percent.

Shares in Vista Group are soaring almost 11 percent after the data analytics provider reported upbeat earnings for 2024, as a jump in clients transitioning to its cloud solutions.

In economic news, Total credit in Australia was up 0.5 percent on month and 6.5 percent on year in January, the Reserve Bank of Australia said on Friday. Housing credit was up 0.4 percent on month and 5.6 percent on year, while personal credit was flat on month and up 2.2 percent on year and business credit climbed 0.7 percent on month and 8.8 percent on year. Broad money was up 0.3 percent on month and 5.2 percent on year.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.623 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks once again failed to sustain an early upward move and came under pressure over the course of the trading day on Thursday. Unlike the previous session, however, the major averages extended the pullback as the day progressed, closing sharply lower.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a particularly steep loss, plunging 530.84 points or 2.8 percent to a nearly four-month closing low of 18,544.41. The S&P 500 also slumped 94.49 points or 1.6 percent to a one-month closing low of 5,861.57, while the narrower Dow fell 193.62 points or 0.5 percent to a one-month closing low of 43,239.50.

The major European markets also showed strong moves to the downside on the day. The German DAX Index slumped by 1.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.5 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index bucked the downtrend and increased by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday as the U.S. decision to revoke Chevron Corporation's license to operate in Venezuela raised supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April closed higher by $1.73 or 2.52 percent at $70.35 a barrel.