On Tuesday, the Australian stock market is mitigating some of its losses around midday, although it continues to be weighed down by the broad negative impacts from Wall Street's overnight performance. The key S&P/ASX 200 index has dipped below the 8,200 mark, with declines in sectors such as mining, finance, and technology being somewhat balanced by upturns in the energy sector.
The S&P/ASX 200 index has fallen by 53.70 points, or 0.65%, reaching 8,181.30, after having slipped to a low of 8,168.70 earlier in the session. Similarly, the broader All Ordinaries index is down by 51.20 points, or 0.60%, to 8,444.80. Previously, Australian stocks ended slightly lower on Monday.
Focusing on major mining stocks, BHP Group is experiencing a near 1% decline, while Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto are each slightly down by 0.5%. However, Mineral Resources is bucking the trend with a gain exceeding 1%.
In the oil sector, stocks are trending upward. Beach Energy is up by more than 1%, Origin Energy is marginally increasing by 0.2%, and both Santos and Woodside Energy are adding close to 1% each.
The technology sector is seeing mixed outcomes. Block, the owner of Afterpay, is losing nearly 2%, Zip has decreased by 1.5%, WiseTech Global is down by almost 1%, and Xero is slightly down by 0.2%, whereas Appen has gained over 1%.
Gold mining companies are generally facing downward pressure; Newmont has dropped more than 2%, Evolution Mining has slipped by 0.5%, and Northern Star Resources is down almost 1%. Conversely, Gold Road Resources has risen by 0.2% and Resolute Mining is up by nearly 1%.
Among the major banks, the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking, Westpac, and National Australia Bank are all facing declines of almost 1% each.
In other developments, Mesoblast shares are experiencing a significant surge of over 9%, following the U.S. FDA's recent approval of one of the biotechnology firm's mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapies.
In the currency exchange arena, the Australian dollar is currently trading at $0.623 on Tuesday.
