The Australian stock market continued its downward trajectory on Friday, marking its fourth consecutive day of losses. This decline is in alignment with the broadly negative trends observed on Wall Street overnight. The S&P/ASX 200 Index has dipped below the 8,300 threshold, with sectors such as mining and technology suffering the most significant setbacks.
Recent job data surpassing expectations in Australia have led market participants to reassess the likelihood of an interest rate cut in February.
The S&P/ASX 200 has shed 50.70 points, or 0.61 percent, settling at 8,279.60 after earlier lows of 8,263.50. Similarly, the All Ordinaries Index has decreased by 51.20 points, or 0.60 percent, to 8,535.70. The Australian markets had previously seen a modest decline on Thursday.
In the resources sector, major players like BHP Group are experiencing losses of over 1 percent, with Mineral Resources slightly down by 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are each declining by over 2 percent.
Conversely, oil stocks are showing resilience. Woodside Energy has nudged upward by 0.5 percent, and Beach Energy is up 1.5 percent. However, Origin Energy has lost close to 1 percent, while Santos remains unchanged.
Tech stocks are also under pressure. Companies like Zip and WiseTech Global have each dropped nearly 1 percent. Block, the owner of Afterpay, is down over 4 percent, and Xero has decreased by more than 1 percent. In contrast, Appen has gained almost 2 percent.
Among Australia's major banking institutions, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking, Westpac, and National Australia Bank have registered slight declines ranging from 0.1 to 0.4 percent. The gold mining sector is also largely facing downturns. Evolution Mining is down nearly 4 percent, Northern Star Resources has dropped by over 2 percent, Gold Road Resources has fallen by nearly 3 percent, Newmont is down over 1 percent, and Resolute Mining has seen a decrease of over 4 percent following its announcement of a final settlement payment to the government of Mali.
In corporate news, Insignia Financial's shares are surging by more than 6 percent upon the receipt of a $2.68 billion non-binding takeover proposal from Bain Capital, a private equity firm. Iress shares have also climbed almost 6 percent following the reaffirmation of its earnings forecast for the fiscal year 2024.
In currency movements, the Australian dollar is currently trading at $0.637.
On the U.S. front, Wall Street stocks initially recovered from early losses during Thursday's trading but later trended downward. The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued its downward streak for the sixth session, declining by 234.44 points, or 0.5 percent, to 43,914.12. The Nasdaq Composite fell by 132.05 points, or 0.7 percent, to 19,902.84, and the S&P 500 slid 32.94 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,051.25.
Turning to Europe, major indices displayed little change. Despite the European Central Bank's decision to cut interest rates by a quarter-point, the French CAC 40 Index closed marginally below the flat line, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX Index managed minor gains of 0.1 percent each.
In the commodities market, crude oil prices concluded Thursday's session lower after three consecutive days of gains. This decrease follows an International Energy Agency forecast suggesting an oil market surplus next year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January delivery fell by $0.27, or 0.4 percent, to close at $70.02 per barrel.
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