Australian Market Notably Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is notably lower on Monday, extending the sharp gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling below the 8,650.00 level, with weakness in mining and energy stocks amid tumbling commodity prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 63.80 points or 0.73 percent to 8,633.50, after hitting a low of 8,628.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 61.40 points or 0.68 percent to 8,921.90. Australian stocks closed sharply higher on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is declining almost 3 percent, Rio Tinto is losing almost 2 percent and Fortescue is down almost 1 percent, while Mineral Resources is gaining almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos is edging down 0.5 percent, while Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are losing almost 1 percent each. Beach energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 2 percent and Appen is advancing almost 3 percent, while Xero, Zip and WiseTech Global are losing more than 1 percent each.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources is slipping almost 2 percent and Genesis Minerals is declining more than 3 percent, while Evolution Mining, Resolute Mining and Newmont are losing more than 2 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Westpac is edging up 0.2 percent and ANZ Banking is gaining more than 1 percent, while Commonwealth Bank is losing almost 1 percent. National Australia Bank is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.665 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a significant move to the downside during trading on Friday following the mixed performance seen during Thursday's session. The major averages all moved lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a particularly steep drop.

The major averages ended the day off their worst levels of the session but still in negative territory. The Nasdaq plunged 398.69 points or 1.7 percent to 23,195.17 and the S&P 500 tumbled 73.59 points or 1.1 percent to 6,827.41.

The major European markets also moved to the downside over the course of the session. While the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.5 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices weakened on Friday as traders kept an eye on the latest developments in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and escalating tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery fell $0.20 or 0.4 percent at $57.40 per barrel.