The Australian stock market continues its downward trend during Monday's mid-session trading, extending losses from the previous two sessions. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index has dipped significantly below the 8,200 mark, primarily due to declines in financial and technology stocks. This downturn is partially counterbalanced by gains in mining and energy stocks, driven by rising commodity prices.
Currently, the S&P/ASX 200 Index has decreased by 117.90 points or 1.42%, settling at 8,176.20 after reaching a low of 8,170.00 earlier. Meanwhile, the broader All Ordinaries Index shows a decline of 126.20 points or 1.48%, bringing it to 8,417.50. On Friday, Australian stocks ended the day with modest losses.
In the mining sector, significant players such as BHP Group, Fortescue Metals, and Rio Tinto have shown marginal gains ranging from 0.1% to 0.4%, while Mineral Resources has surged more than 4%. Oil stocks are performing well, with Woodside Energy up over 2%, Origin Energy inching up by 0.3%, and both Santos and Beach Energy rising nearly 2% each.
Conversely, the technology sector faces challenges. Block, the owner of Afterpay, has dropped over 4%, WiseTech Global has fallen by nearly 4%, and Appen has decreased by 2.5%. Meanwhile, Xero and Zip have both declined by almost 3%.
Gold mining stocks are mostly on the rise. Evolution Mining has seen a marginal increase of 0.4%, Northern Star Resources has gained over 1%, and Gold Road Resources has risen more than 2%. However, Newmont is slightly down by 0.4%, and Resolute Mining has dropped almost 5%.
Among the country's major banks, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank have each decreased by 2.5%, Westpac is down by nearly 3%, and ANZ Banking has fallen by almost 2%.
In other developments, NRW Holdings' shares have plummeted nearly 9% following the resignation of Chief Financial Officer Richard Simons after two years in the role. Novonix shares are down almost 5% after the U.S. Department of Energy denied the battery materials producer certain tax credits, affecting its ability to secure additional funding for its Tennessee facility.
On the currency front, the Australian dollar is currently trading at $0.616.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
www.instaforex.com
