Australian Market Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading slightly lower on Wednesday, reversing some of the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling to near the 8,850 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in financial and technology stocks nearly offset by gains in mining and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 1.50 points or 0.02 percent to 8,855.60, after hitting a low of 8,832.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 8.30 points or 0.09 percent to 9,141.00. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are gaining almost 4 percent each, while Fortescue is adding more than 1 percent. Mineral Resources is losing almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is advancing more than 2 percent, Woodside Energy is gaining more than 1 percent and Beach energy is adding almost 1 percent, while Origin Energy is losing almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Zip are tumbling almost 7 percent each, while Xero is plunging almost 14 percent, Appen is losing more than 2 percent and WiseTech Global is sliding more than 9 percent.

Among the big four banks, Westpac and ANZ Banking are losing more than 1 percent each, while National Australia bank and Commonwealth Bank are down almost 1 percent each. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is gaining almost 2 percent, Resolute Mining is advancing almost 3 percent, Northern Star Resources is surging almost 6 percent, while Newmont and Genesis Minerals are adding more than 2 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.702 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks moved notably lower during trading on Tuesday, more than offsetting the strength seen in the previous session. The major averages all moved to the downside on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a particularly steep drop.

The major averages climbed well off their worst levels in the latter part of the session but remained in negative territory. The Nasdaq slumped 336.92 points or 1.4 percent to 23,255.19, the S&P 500 slid 58.63 points or 0.8 percent to 6,917.81 and the Dow fell 166.67 points or 0.3 percent to 49,240.99.

The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index closed just below the unchanged line.

Crude oil prices surged on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar index moved lower, while news of the U.S.-India trade agreement has led to anticipation of a spur in energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.10 or 1.77 percent at $63.24 per barrel.