Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Friday, giving up some of the gains in the previous two sessions, following the lack of cues from Wall Street and despite the positive cues from European markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 8,400 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 29.40 points or 0.35 percent to 8,414.90, after hitting a low of 8,390.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 25.50 points or 0.29 percent to 8,674.50. Australian markets ended notably higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is edging down 0.3 percent and Mineral Resources is declining 1.5 percent, while Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto are losing almost 1 percent each, while is advancing more than 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy, Origin Energy and Santos are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is edging up 0.1 percent and WiseTech Global is gaining more than 1 percent, while Appen is edging down 0.4 percent and Xero is losing more than 1 percent. Zip is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are losing almost 1 percent each, while Westpac is edging down 0.4 percent and ANZ Banking is down more than 1 percent. Gold miners are mixed. Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are edging down 0.2 to 0.3 percent each, while Gold Road Resources is losing almost 1 percent. Newmont is edging up 0.3 percent and Resolute Mining is advancing more than 5 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.651 on Friday.

The Wall Street was closed on account of Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. The shares closed notably higher on Wednesday.

The major European markets moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.08 percent, Germany's DAX climbed 0.85 percent and France's CAC 40 closed up 0.51 percent.