On Tuesday, the Australian stock market has given up some of the gains it achieved over the previous three sessions, despite the generally positive signals from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index remains marginally above the 8,000 mark, with declines in iron ore mining and energy stocks, due to weak commodity prices, being nearly balanced by gains in technology and financial stocks.
Specifically, the S&P/ASX 200 is down by 7.90 points or 0.10 percent to 8,009.70, after dropping to an earlier low of 8,006.50. The broader All Ordinaries Index has decreased by 5.70 points or 0.07 percent to 8,256.70. It’s worth noting that Australian stocks closed significantly higher on Monday.
Focusing on the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are both down nearly 2 percent, while Fortescue Metals has dropped almost 1 percent, and Mineral Resources has declined by more than 1 percent.
In the oil industry, stock performance is mixed. Woodside Energy and Santos have dipped between 0.3 to 0.4 percent each. In contrast, Beach Energy and Origin Energy have edged up by 0.1 to 0.2 percent respectively.
In the tech sector, Zip has increased by almost 2 percent, WiseTech Global is up by 0.3 percent, and Afterpay owner Block is soaring with a gain of more than 3 percent. Conversely, Xero has slightly dipped by 0.3 percent, while Appen remains flat. Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources and Newmont have each gained nearly 1 percent, and Evolution Mining has edged up by 0.1 percent, although Gold Road Resources has lost almost 1 percent, and Resolute Mining remains unchanged.
Looking at the major banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking, and Westpac have all edged higher by 0.2 to 0.4 percent, while National Australia Bank has gained nearly 1 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.675 on Tuesday.
Across the Pacific, Wall Street closed on a strong note on Monday, with two out of the three major indices reaching new record highs, driven by widespread buying across various sectors. Optimism about potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and the rising prospects of former President Donald Trump winning the upcoming presidential elections boosted investor sentiment.
The Dow climbed by 210.82 points or 0.53 percent, ending at 40,211.72 after reaching a new high of 40,351.10. The S&P 500 also hit a new high of 5,666.94 before settling at 5,631.22, gaining 15.87 points or 0.28 percent. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq gained 74.12 points or 0.4 percent, closing at 18,472.57 after hitting a high of 18,641.53.
In Europe, the major markets were down for the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell by 0.85 percent, Germany's DAX declined by 0.84 percent, and France's CAC 40 decreased by 1.19 percent.
Crude oil prices also settled lower on Monday, affected by political uncertainty following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and weak economic data from China. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for August closed down by $0.30 at $81.91 per barrel.
