Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is currently trading notably lower on Monday, giving up the slight gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling to stay above the 7,700.00 level, with weakness across most sectors led by gold miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 39.90 points or 0.51 percent to 7,727.60, after hitting a low of 7,710.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 42.40 points or 0.53 percent to 7,971.40. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Friday.

Traders reacted to data that showed the Australian manufacturing sector contracting the most since May 2020. They also cautiously look ahead to the latest monetary policy meeting minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia later in the week.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are gaining almost 1 percent each, while BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each. Oil stocks are weak. Beach energy and Woodside Energy are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Origin Energy is losing more than 1 percent and Santos is down almost 1 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Appen is gaining more than 1 percent and Afterpay owner Block is edging up 0.4 percent, while WiseTech Global is losing almost 3 percent and Xero is declining more than 1 percent. Zip is flat.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Newmont and Evolution Mining are losing almost 2 percent each, while Resolute Mining is declining 2.5 percent and Northern Star Resources is down more than 1 percent. Gold Road Resources is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is losing more than 1 percent and ANZ Banking is edging down 0.3 percent, while National Australia Bank and Westpac are declining almost 1 percent each.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to contract in June, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 47.2. That's down from 49.7 in May, and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. This indicated a fifth successive monthly deterioration in manufacturing sector conditions and at the fastest pace since May 2020.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.667 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stock moved mostly higher in early trading on Friday but showed a significant downturn over the course of the session. The major averages pulled back well off their early highs and into negative territory.

After reaching record intraday highs, the Nasdaq slid 126.08 points or 0.7 percent to 17,732.60 and the S&P 500 fell 22.39 points or 0.4 percent to 5,460.48. The narrower Dow posted a more modest loss, edging down 45.20 points or 0.1 percent to 39,118.86.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.5 percent.

Crude oil prices showed a modest move to the downside on Friday, coming down from a two-month high on profit taking. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery dipped $0.20 or 0.2 percent to $81.54 a barrel.