In Tuesday's trading session, the Australian stock market is experiencing noticeable declines, continuing from previous losses, despite generally positive signals from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is nearing the 8,200 level as mining stocks demonstrate weakness due to falling metal prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index has dropped by 42.10 points, or 0.51%, reaching 8,224.10, after hitting a low of 8,215.80 earlier in the session. Meanwhile, the broader All Ordinaries Index has decreased by 39.60 points, or 0.47%, to 8,479.30. Australian equities ended Monday's session with a modest decline.
In the mining sector, BHP Group is down nearly 2%, Rio Tinto is down almost 3%, and Fortescue Metals has decreased by more than 1%, while Mineral Resources has edged up by 0.4%.
Oil stocks are mostly on the rise, with Origin Energy gaining nearly 1%, and Woodside Energy, Beach Energy, and Santos seeing slight increases ranging from 0.1% to 0.4%.
Technology stocks are showing slight increases, with Appen, Zip, Xero, and WiseTech Global all rising between 0.2% and 0.4%. Notably, Afterpay owner Block has surged almost 11%, reflecting gains in the stock's American-listed shares following upbeat analysis from Piper Sandler.
Gold mining stocks are mostly higher, although Gold Road Resources and Evolution Mining are each down almost 5%, while Resolute Mining and Northern Star Resources have declined by over 3%. Newmont has plummeted more than 5%.
Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank has edged up by 0.1% and ANZ Banking is close to a 1% increase, whereas Westpac has fallen by 0.4% and National Australia Bank is down over 3%.
In corporate updates, shares of Paladin Energy have plunged nearly 25% after the uranium producer reduced its FY25 guidance, citing operational issues and delays in ramping production.
In currency markets, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.657 as of Tuesday.
Wall Street ended Monday on a strong note, with the Dow and S&P 500 reaching new record highs, even as the Nasdaq remained relatively flat due to limited performance in technology stocks. The Dow concluded at 44,293.13, increasing by 304.14 points, or 0.69%. The S&P 500 gained 5.81 points, or 0.1%, closing at 6,001.35. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq saw a slight increase of 11.99 points, or 0.06%, settling at 19,298.76.
European markets also saw upward movement, with the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rising by 0.65%, Germany's DAX increasing by 1.21%, and France's CAC 40 rising by 1.2%.
In commodities, crude oil suffered a significant drop on Monday, pressured by a stronger dollar and concerns about demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December fell by $2.34, or 3.6%, to $68.04 per barrel.
