Australian Markets Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Tuesday, reversing the slight gains in the previous two sessions, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling below the 8,800 level, as traders remain cautious ahead of the release of inflation data tomorrow, which will have an impact on the outlook for interest rates.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 26.40 points or 0.30 percent to 8,783.50, after hitting a low of 8,773.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 29.10 points or 0.33 percent to 8,897.50. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto and BHP Group are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is edging up 0.4 percent. Fortescue is edging down 0.5 percent.

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

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 2 percent, Xero is declining more than 3 percent and WiseTech Global is down almost 2 percent, while Zip is surging more than 6 percent and Appen is gaining almost 2 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining, Newmont and Northern Star Resources are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Resolute Mining and Genesis Minerals are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is edging down 0.3 percent, Commonwealth Bank is gaining more than 1 percent, National Australia Bank is adding almost 2 percent and Westpac is up almost 1 percent.

In other news, Shares in Brightstar Resources are tumbling more than 9 percent after announcing a $82 million single-tranche capital raising/placement to fund its Sandstone gold exploration and development program in Western Australia.

Shares in SCX.ai are surging almost 7 percent after the sovereign artificial intelligence inference company was selected as an Australian launch partner in the SpaceX Super Intelligence Partner Network.

Shares in Star Entertainment are soaring almost 22 percent following a positive first-quarter trading update and turnaround report released ahead of its Annual General Meeting.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.702 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved back to the upside during trading on Monday following the pullback seen over the last two sessions of the previous week. The major averages all moved higher on the day, although the Dow posted a relatively modest gain.

The major averages finished the day off their highs of the session but still in positive territory. The Nasdaq advanced 214.04 points or 0.8 percent to 26,169.38, the S&P 500 climbed 53.09 points or 0.7 percent to 7,676.77 and the Dow rose 146.32 points or 0.3 percent to 52,361.58.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. The German DAX Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 Index increased by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices slumped on Monday on reports that a delegation from Qatar has visited Iran to discuss de-escalation of regional conflicts. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery was down $1.27 or 1.27 percent at $102.00 per barrel.