The Australian stock market has seen a modest decline on Tuesday, surrendering some gains from the past two sessions. Influenced by mixed signals from global markets overnight, the S&P/ASX 200 Index has dipped below the 8,100 mark. The downturn in iron ore miners has been somewhat balanced by slight upticks in gold miners and energy stocks.
Specifically, the S&P/ASX 200 Index has dropped 20.40 points, or 0.25%, settling at 8,089.50, after an earlier low of 8,073.70. The broader All Ordinaries Index has similarly decreased by 18.70 points, or 0.22%, to 8,312.10. This follows a modest rise in Australian stocks on Monday.
In the mining sector, major players like BHP Group and Rio Tinto have each decreased by almost 1%, Fortescue Metals has edged down by 0.3%, and Mineral Resources has fallen by more than 2%.
Conversely, oil stocks have generally shown gains. Woodside Energy, Santos, and Origin Energy have each inched up by 0.2% to 0.4%, while Beach Energy remained flat.
Among technology stocks, Appen has risen by 1.5%, Zip is up by 0.2%, and WiseTech Global has added over 1%. On the downside, Afterpay owner Block and Xero have both dipped by 0.1% to 0.4%.
Gold miners have mostly fared well, with Gold Road Resources gaining over 1%, Newmont edging up by 0.1%, and Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining each increasing by nearly 1%. Resolute Mining has remained flat.
Within the financial sector, the big four banks have shown mixed performance. ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank have each slipped by 0.2% to 0.3%, while Commonwealth Bank and Westpac have stayed flat.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.678.
Meanwhile, Wall Street was closed on Monday for Labor Day, following a strong close on Friday.
In Europe, markets ended mixed; the U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell by 0.15%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 rose by 0.13% and 0.2%, respectively.
