The Australian stock market experienced a notable downturn on Friday, erasing the modest gains seen in the previous trading session. This decline follows the broadly negative signals from international markets overnight. The S&P/ASX 200, Australia's primary benchmark, is approaching the 8,100 mark, with widespread sectoral weakness, particularly pronounced in mining and technology stocks. In contrast, energy stocks provided a rare area of strength amidst escalating crude oil prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index is down by 84.00 points, or 1.02 percent, to 8,121.20, after reaching a low of 8,109.60 earlier. Meanwhile, the broader All Ordinaries Index has fallen by 86.80 points, reflecting a similar 1.02 percent decline to 8,387.50. On the previous day, Australian markets had ended marginally higher.
In the mining sector, key players like BHP Group, Fortescue Metals, and Rio Tinto are each experiencing declines exceeding 2 percent, while Mineral Resources is down nearly as much.
In contrast, oil stocks are broadly on the rise. Woodside Energy is up nearly 2 percent, Santos gains over 1 percent, and Beach Energy increases by more than 2 percent. However, Origin Energy dips slightly by 0.2 percent.
In the technology sector, Block, owner of Afterpay, is up nearly 2 percent. Conversely, Zip has decreased by 1.5 percent, WiseTech Global is down nearly 2 percent, Xero has dropped over 1 percent, and Appen shows a significant decline of more than 4 percent.
Among Australia's big four banks, Commonwealth Bank has decreased by over 1 percent, Westpac is down by 1.5 percent, and both ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank have fallen by nearly 1 percent. Gold miners are mostly lower as well, with Evolution Mining down over 1 percent, Northern Star Resources dipping nearly 1 percent, Newmont decreasing by 1.5 percent, and Resolute Mining dropping more than 2 percent, whereas Gold Road Resources edges up slightly by 0.3 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.685 on Friday.
In the U.S., Wall Street witnessed volatile trading on Thursday, continuing the uncertain performance from Wednesday. The major indices fluctuated around the baseline throughout the session and eventually closed with slight losses. The Nasdaq ended lower by 6.65 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 17,918.48. The S&P 500 decreased by 9.60 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,699.94, and the narrower Dow fell by 184.93 points, or 0.4 percent, to 42,011.59.
European markets also saw downward movement during the day. France's CAC 40 Index dropped 1.3 percent, Germany's DAX Index slid 0.8 percent, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent.
The spike in crude oil prices on Thursday was driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East, specifically involving the conflict between Israel and Iran, which raised fears of supply disruptions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November surged by $3.61, or 5.2 percent, settling at $73.71 per barrel.
