Australian Markets Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous three sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling below the 9,100.00 level, with weakness is financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in energy and mining stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 33.90 points or 0.37 percent to 9,081.30, after hitting a low of 9,079.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 28.10 points or 0.30 percent to 9,285.10. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.3 percent each, while BHP Group is gaining almost 1 percent. Fortescue is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is gaining almost 1 percent, while Woodside Energy and Santos are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each. Origin Energy is losing more than 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block losing almost 1 percent, WiseTech Global is declining more than 3 percent, Zip is slipping more than 2 percent, Xero is down more than 1 percent and Appen is edging down 0.3 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Resolute Mining is adding more than 2 percent and Newmont is advancing more than 3 percent, while Northern Star Resources Genesis Minerals and Evolution Mining are gaining almost 2 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.1 percent, Westpac is losing almost 1 percent, ANZ Banking is down almost 2 percent and National Australia Bank is declining more than 4 percent. In other news, shares in Iress are tumbling more than 9 percent despite lifting net profit in the first half of 2026 from a year ago.

Shares in Audinate are surging more than 12 percent after it slipped to a underlying loss before tax for the full year, compared to a profit a year ago.

Shares in Aurizon are plunging almost 11 percent as the company reported underlying earnings that was in line with analysts' expectations. Shares in L1 Group are surging more than 10 percent after full year underlying net profit nearly doubled from last year.

Shares in JB Hi-Fi are diving almost 14 per cent after reporting results that fell short of market expectations as shoppers pulled back spending in the final quarter.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.709 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved modestly lower during trading on Friday, giving back ground after moving mostly higher over the two previous sessions. Selling pressure remained relatively subdued, however, limiting the downside for the major averages.

The major averages all finished the day in negative territory. The Dow dipped 107.58 points or 0.2 percent to 53,732.41, the Nasdaq fell 73.86 points or 0.3 percent to 26,729.16 and the S&P 500 slipped 13.23 points or 0.2 percent to 7,785.76.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned mixed over the course of the session. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both dipped by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Friday as the U.S. and Iran continue to spar on their demands, leaving the Strait of Hormuz shut for shipping traffic. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $1.05 or 1.29 percent at $82.30 per barrel.