Australian Market Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is sharply lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling below the 8,400.00 level, with weakness across most sectors led by technology and financial stocks. Energy stocks are the only bright spot on surging crude oil prices amid the expanding Middle-East conflict.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 137.00 points or 1.61 percent to 8,379.30, after hitting a low of 8,386.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 135.60 points or 1.56 percent to 8,577.20. Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Mineral Resources is declining more than 3 percent and BHP Group is edging down 0.4 percent, while Rio Tinto is gaining almost 2 percent and Fortescue is adding 1.5 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is advancing more than 4 percent, Woodside Energy is gaining almost 3 percent and Santos is adding almost 2 percent, while Origin Energy is up almost 2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is tumbling almost 7 percent. WiseTech Global and Xero are declining almost 5 percent each, while Zip and Appen is slipping more than 5 percent.

Gold miners are mixed. Northern Star Resources is gaining almost 3 percent, while Resolute Mining and Evolution Mining are edging up 0.4 percent each. Newmont is losing almost 1 percent and Genesis Minerals is declining almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are losing more than 3 percent each, while Westpac is tumbling almost 5 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.686 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Friday, adding to the steep losses posted in the previous session. The major averages moved to the downside early in the session and slid even more firmly into negative territory as the day progressed.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the end of the day but still posted steep losses. The Nasdaq plunged 459.72 points or 2.2 percent to 20,948.36, the Dow tumbled 793.47 points or 1.7 percent to 45,166.64 and the S&P 500 slumped 108.31 points or 1.7 percent to 6,368.85.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. The German DAX Index slumped by 1.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Friday after Iran shut down reports of peace talks for the ongoing conflict. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $5.32 or 5.63 percent at $99.80 per barrel.