The Australian stock market remains relatively stable in mid-session trading on Tuesday, as investors toggle around the unchanged mark following gains in the previous session. The S&P/ASX 200 Index is holding above the 8,400 mark, buoyed by advances in iron ore miners and financial stocks, although these are partially counterbalanced by declines in gold miners, energy, and technology stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index has edged up by 3.50 points, marking a 0.04 percent increase to 8,412.40, having fluctuated between a high of 8,427.10 and a low of 8,386.50 earlier in the session. Meanwhile, the broader All Ordinaries Index has fallen slightly by 3.10 points or 0.04 percent to 8,657.30. Australian shares ended last week modestly higher ahead of the long weekend.
In the mining sector, major players such as BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are rising by nearly 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are experiencing marginal losses of 0.2 to 0.4 percent.
The energy sector sees most oil-related stocks trending lower. Origin Energy is declining by almost 2 percent, while Woodside Energy and Santos show minor decreases of 0.1 to 0.5 percent. Beach Energy bucks the trend with a slight increase of 0.1 percent.
Among technology stocks, Zip and WiseTech Global are each down over 1 percent, Appen has decreased by 3.5 percent, while Xero is up nearly 1 percent. Block, the owner of Afterpay, remains unchanged.
Gold mining companies are generally facing downturns. Gold Road Resources has dropped by almost 5 percent, Newmont is down nearly 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is down 2.5 percent, and Evolution Mining is experiencing a slight dip of 0.5 percent. Conversely, Resolute Mining has gained nearly 1 percent.
The major banks are seeing gains, with Westpac, ANZ Banking, and National Australia Bank each up over 1 percent, while Commonwealth Bank rises by almost 1 percent.
In other developments, shares in Nuix have plummeted by nearly 17 percent following an announcement from the software company indicating a drop in underlying earnings for the half-year to December, attributed to project delays and the acceptance of more complex contracts.
Conversely, Telix Pharmaceuticals' shares are surging over 4 percent after the successful acquisition of US-listed RLS Radiopharmacies for $230 million.
In currency news, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.626 on Tuesday.
