The Australian stock market is experiencing a downturn in mid-market trading on Friday, having opened positively but subsequently extending the losses incurred during the previous session. This movement is heavily influenced by the mixed signals from European markets and a lack of clear direction from Wall Street overnight. The S&P/ASX 200 index has dropped significantly below the 8,300 mark, with financial, energy, and technology sectors all showing weakness, though mining stocks are providing some upward momentum.
As of now, the S&P/ASX 200 Index has decreased by 50.40 points, equating to a 0.61 percent drop, settling at 8,278.80, after reaching a low of 8,262.20 earlier in the day. Similarly, the broader All Ordinaries Index has declined by 48.80 points, or 0.57 percent, to 8,529.00. On Thursday, Australian stocks had also experienced a modest decline.
Focusing on the major mining companies, BHP Group is seeing an uptick of nearly 1 percent, and Rio Tinto is climbing by almost 2 percent. In contrast, Mineral Resources and Fortescue Metals have marginal losses, each slipping by 0.3 to 0.5 percent.
The energy sector is facing challenges, with most companies showing weakness. Woodside Energy, Origin Energy, and Santos have each decreased by 0.1 to 0.3 percent, while Beach Energy's stock remains stable.
Technology stocks are also under pressure—Block, owner of Afterpay, is down by over 1 percent. Similarly, WiseTech Global, Appen, and Xero have all declined by nearly 1 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, although Zip has managed a slight gain of 0.3 percent.
The major banks show substantial declines as well. Both Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank have lost nearly 2 percent, Westpac has fallen by over 2 percent, and ANZ Banking is down nearly 1 percent.
Conversely, the gold mining sector sees predominantly positive movements. Evolution Mining is up by almost 1 percent, Newmont has increased by more than 1 percent, and Resolute Mining and Northern Star Resources have edged up by 0.3 and 0.5 percent, respectively. However, Gold Road Resources has dipped by 0.2 percent.
In the foreign exchange market, the Australian dollar is currently valued at $0.620 on Friday.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company -
www.instaforex.com
