Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is trading modestly lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 9,100 level, with weakness in mining and technology stocks partially offset by gains in energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 35.90 points or 0.39 percent to 9,091.90, after hitting a low of 9,090.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 43.10 points or 0.46 percent to 9,295.70. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 1 percent and Rio Tinto is edging down 0.3 percent, while Fortescue is edging up 0.2 percent and Mineral Resources is gaining almost 4 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Beach energy are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Santos is gaining almost 1 percent. Origin Energy is flat.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 2 percent. Xero and Zip are down almost 1 percent each, while WiseTech Global is losing more than 2 percent and Appen is tumbling more than 11 percent on unchanged full-year guidance, despite upbeat results. Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is edging down 0.5 percent, while Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each.

Among gold miners, Genesis Minerals is losing more than 2 percent, Evolution Mining is slipping almost 3 percent and Resolute Mining is declining more than 1 percent, while Newmont and Northern Star Resources are down almost 1 percent each.

In other news, shares in Objective Corp are tumbling more than 20 percent after the loss of a major National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) contract and weak guidance for the full-year 2027.

Shares in DUG Technology are plunging more than 16 percent after reporting downbeat results for the full-year 2026, despite returning to profit and revenue jumping 38 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.718 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after ending the previous session mostly higher. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing modestly lower.

The Dow dipped 113.52 points or 0.2 percent to 53,463.88, the Nasdaq slipped 21.10 points or 0.1 percent to 26,130.20 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.58 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 7,675.70.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index crept up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices inched lower on Wednesday on reports of Iran and Oman nearing an agreement to establish a temporary transit corridor through the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was down $0.22 or 0.27 percent at $82.14 per barrel.