Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Monday, adding to the losses in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling well below the 9,000.00 mark, with weakness in mining stocks partially offset by gains in energy, financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 19.80 points or 0.22 percent to 8,975.50, after hitting a low of 8,963.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 23.70 points or 0.26 percent to 9,269.50. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto and Fortescue are down more than 1 percent each, while BHP Group and Mineral Resources are losing almost 2 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is edging up 0.2 percent, Santos is gaining almost 1 percent and Beach energy is advancing more than 3 percent, while Woodside Energy is edging down 0.3 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is adding more than 2 percent, Xero is gaining almost 1 percent and Zip is advancing more than 4 percent, while Appen is edging down 0.4 percent. WiseTech Global is flat.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining is declining almost 6 percent, Newmont is tumbling more than 6 percent, Northern Star Resources is slipping 4.5 percent, Resolute Mining is sliding more than 5 percent and Genesis Minerals is losing almost 4 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is gaining almost 1 percent, while National Australia Bank and Westpac are edging up 0.3 percent each. ANZ Banking is flat.

In other news, shares in Bapcor slipping more than 13 percent after the auto parts group downgraded its profit outlook and the disclosure of $12 million pre-tax earnings hit due to "unsatisfactory operational practices" in its trade division.

Shares in Deep Yellow are tumbling almost 18 percent after the immediate exit of the uranium miner's chief executive John Borshoff.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.650 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Friday after showing a lack of direction early in the session. The major averages all moved to the upside, regaining ground following the downturn seen in the previous session.

The major averages finished the day off their highs of the session but still firmly in positive territory. The Dow advanced 238.37 points or 0.5 percent to 46,190.61, the Nasdaq climbed 117.44 points or 0.5 percent to 22,679.97 and the S&P 500 rose 34.94 points or 0.5 percent to 6,664.01.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index tumbled 1.8 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices rose on Friday after Trump suddenly reversed his hardline stance on China, suggesting warmer trade relations could lead to an increase in energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was up by $0.20 or 0.35 percent at $57.66 per barrel.