On Friday, the Australian stock market experienced a slight decline, reversing modest gains from the previous day, influenced by broadly negative signals from Wall Street. The S&P/ASX 200 index remains above the 8,300 mark, showcasing a mixed sectoral performance. Weakness in financial and technology stocks is partially counterbalanced by gains in the gold mining and energy sectors.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index decreased by 4.10 points or 0.05 percent, landing at 8,322.90 after fluctuating between a high of 8,332.80 and a low of 8,314.50. The All Ordinaries Index also slipped, down 4.00 points or 0.05 percent to 8,565.10, following a slight increase in Australian stocks on Thursday.
In the mining sector, BHP Group and Mineral Resources fell by nearly 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto declined by over 1 percent. Conversely, Fortescue Metals rose by more than 1 percent.
Oil companies saw mixed results. Santos edged up by 0.1 percent, and Origin Energy gained over 1 percent, whereas Woodside Energy dipped by 0.2 percent, and Beach Energy remained unchanged.
Among technology stocks, Block, the owner of Afterpay, edged up by 0.2 percent. Appen saw a significant rise, gaining over 3 percent. In contrast, Zip fell by more than 1 percent, Xero decreased by 0.4 percent, and WiseTech Global dropped nearly 2 percent.
The big four banks—Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, National Australia Bank, and ANZ Banking—each saw declines of around 1 percent. Gold mining companies generally performed well, with Evolution Mining gaining over 1 percent and Resolute Mining adding nearly 1 percent. Newmont and Gold Road Resources showed minor increases of 0.2 to 0.3 percent, while Northern Star Resources decreased by almost 1 percent.
On the currency front, the Australian dollar was trading at $0.621 on Friday.
In contrast, Wall Street showed a subdued performance on Thursday following a significant rally on Wednesday. The major indexes fluctuated, eventually closing in negative territory. The tech-heavy Nasdaq notably declined, largely due to a slump in Apple shares, falling 172.94 points or 0.9 percent to 19,338.29. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 also posted losses, with the Dow decreasing by 68.42 points or 0.2 percent to 43,153.13, and the S&P 500 falling 12.57 points or 0.2 percent to 5,937.34.
Conversely, European markets showed upward movement. The French CAC 40 Index surged by 2.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index increased by 1.1 percent, and the German DAX Index grew by 0.4 percent.
Crude oil prices saw a sharp decline on Thursday after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the UN Security Council. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February settled $1.36 lower or down 1.7 percent at $78.68 a barrel.
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