Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading modestly lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous three sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,450 level, with weakness in mining and financial stocks partially offset by gains in energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 22.00 points or 0.26 percent to 8,439.00, after hitting a low of 8,433.70 and a high of 8,477.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 25.00 points or 0.29 percent to 8,632.50. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 1 percent, Mineral Resources is slipping almost 4 percent, Fortescue is down almost 2 percent and Rio Tinto is declining almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy is adding more than 1 percent, Santos is up almost 1 percent, Origin Energy is edging up 0.2 percent and Beach energy is gaining almost 2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 2 percent, WiseTech Global is edging up 0.4 percent and Xero is advancing almost 3 percent, while Appen is declining more than 2 percent and Zip is edging down 0.2 percent.

Gold miners are mixed. Evolution Mining is losing more than 2 percent and Genesis Minerals is declining almost 2 percent, while Resolute Mining is advancing almost 2 percent, Newmont is gaining almost 1 percent and Northern Star resources is edging up 0.2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while National Australia Bank is losing almost 1 percent. Westpac is flat.

In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia will release the minutes from its March 17 monetary policy meeting. At the meeting, the RBA lifted its benchmark rate for the second straight time as the conflict in the Middle East poses material risk to inflation.

The bank decided to hike the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 4.10 percent, with five members voting to raise the rate and four seeking to hold it at 3.85 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.684 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a strong move to the upside in early trading on Monday but gave back ground over the course of the session. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ending the day in negative territory.

The Nasdaq slid 153.72 points or 0.7 percent to 20,794.64 and the S&P 500 fell 25.13 points or 0.4 percent to 6,343.72, dropping to their lowest closing levels in nearly eight months. The narrower Dow, on the other hand, inched up 49.50 points or 0.1 percent to 45,216.14 after briefly dipping into the red in the final hour of trading.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index shot up by 1.6 percent, the German DAX Index jumped by 1.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.9 percent.

Crude oil prices catapulted on Monday as the gulf region remains enveloped in war tension after the U.S. sends more soldiers to the area as Trump warned Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $3.05 or 3.06 percent at $102.69 per barrel.