The Australian stock market continued its downward trajectory during Monday's mid-market trading, extending losses from the last four sessions. The S&P/ASX 200 index remains below the 8,300 level, with declining performance observed across most sectors, particularly in mining and technology stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index has fallen by 30.80 points, or 0.37%, to 8,265.20, after hitting a low of 8,264.20 earlier in the session. Meanwhile, the broader All Ordinaries Index has decreased by 39.30 points, or 0.46%, to 8,511.00. Within the major mining sector, BHP Group is down nearly 2%, Rio Tinto has decreased by 1.5%, Fortescue Metals has dropped 2.5%, and Mineral Resources is down over 1%. The oil sector shows mixed results: Santos and Origin Energy are each up by 0.1%, Beach Energy has gained nearly 2%, while Woodside Energy has dipped by 0.3%.
In the technology sector, both Afterpay's owner Block and WiseTech Global have declined by over 1% each, whereas Zip and Xero have each risen by 0.2%. Appen has experienced a sharp decline, tumbling almost 4%.
Gold mining stocks are predominantly lower. Evolution Mining is down nearly 2%, Northern Star Resources has edged down by 0.5%, Newmont has fallen 3.5%, Resolute Mining has dropped more than 5%, and Gold Road Resources has slipped by almost 1%.
Among the major banks, National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ Banking, and Commonwealth Bank have each edged up between 0.2% and 0.5%.
In another development, Ventia Serviced shares have plunged nearly 8% following accusations of price-fixing involving its executives, as reported by the ACCC last week.
On the economic front, Judo Bank's latest survey revealed that Australia's manufacturing sector continued to contract in December and at a more rapid rate, with a manufacturing PMI reading of 48.2, down from 49.4 in November. This score remains below the critical threshold of 50, distinguishing between expansion and contraction. Meanwhile, the services index slightly eased to 50.4 from 50.5 the previous month, and the composite index slipped into contraction at 49.9, down from 50.2 in November.
In currency news, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.637 on Monday.
