Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading modestly lower on Friday, snapping a five-session winning streak, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying below the 9,100 level, with weakness in technology stocks and a mixed performance at most other sectors.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 15.30 points or 0.17 percent to 9,070.90, after hitting a low of 9,046.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 20.20 points or 0.22 percent to 9,296.40. Australian stocks closed significantly higher on Thursday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 1 percent, Fortescue is adding almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing almost 3 percent after reporting upbeat first-half results, while Rio Tinto is declining more than 3 percent after reporting annual earnings that fell short of expectations.

Oil stocks are mixed. Santos and Woodside Energy are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Origin Energy is gaining 1.5 percent and Beach energy is edging up 0.4 percent. Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is losing more than 2 percent, WiseTech Global is slipping almost 5 percent, Xero is declining almost 4 percent and Appen is tumbling almost 7 percent, while Zip is gaining more than 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is gaining almost 1 percent and Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.2 percent, while National Australia Bank is losing almost 1 percent and Westpac is edging up 0.4 percent. Gold miners are mixed. Resolute Mining and Northern Star Resources are adding almost 1 percent each, while Evolution Mining is gaining almost 2 percent. Newmont is declining almost 3 percent and Genesis Minerals is losing almost 2 percent.

In other news, shares in Alliance Aviation are sliding more than 14 percent after the wet lease provider said a contract with a major airline, understood to be Qantas, is unprofitable and needed to be renegotiated, after it reported a net loss of $105.8 million for the first half.

Shares in Guzman y Gomez are tumbling almost 11 percent after the Mexican fast food chain reported first-half sales that were softer than the market expected, but the company said it remains on track to meet its store opening target this year.

Shares in Latitude Group are jumping more than 9 percent after the credit provider reported upbeat full-year results and boosted its final dividend.

Shares in QBE Insurance are soaring more than 7 percent after the insurer reported upbeat results for the full-year, as premium income and investment returns improved solidly.

Shares in Inghams Group are plunging almost 16 percent after the poultry producer cut its full-year profit forecast following a sharp decline in first-half earnings driven by rising costs.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.705 on Friday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday, giving back ground after turning in a strong performance in the previous session. The major averages all moved to the downside, although selling pressure was somewhat subdued.

The major averages finished the day off their lows of the session but still in negative territory. The Dow slid 267.50 points or 0.5 percent to 49,395.16, the Nasdaq fell 70.91 points or 0.3 percent to 22,682.73 and the S&P 500 dipped 19.42 points or 0.3 percent to 6,861.89.

The major European markets all also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slid by 0.9 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index declined by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices jumped again on Thursday amid concerns about a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran, with reports suggesting American military intervention may be imminent. West Texas Intermediate for March delivery was up $1.25 or 1.9 percent to $66.44 a barrel.