(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Tuesday, reversing some of the sharp gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling well below the 8,900 level, with weakness in mining and energy stocks partially offset by gains in technology and financial stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 28.20 points or 0.32 percent to 8,865.80, after hitting a low of 8,856.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 28.50 points or 0.31 percent to 9,035.30. Australian stocks closed sharply higher on Monday.
Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is declining more than 2 percent and Mineral Resources slipping more than 3 percent, while Fortescue and BHP Group are losing more than 1 percent each.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy and Woodside Energy are edging down 0.2 to 0.3 percent each, while Origin Energy is down more than 1 percent and Santos is losing almost 1 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 3 percent, WiseTech Global is advancing almost 4 percent and Zip is adding almost 1 percent, while Xero and Appen are up more than 1 percent each.
Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining is losing more than 2 percent, Newmont is slipping almost 3 percent and Resolute Mining is edging down 0.5 percent, while Northern Star Resources Genesis Minerals are declining almost 2 percent each.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each. Westpac is flat.
In other news, shares in Web Travel Group are surging more than 12 percent after the company announced strong revenue guidance for the first half of FY27 and a $90 million share buyback.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.699 on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, stocks gave back ground in early trading on Monday and fluctuated over the remainder of the session after failing to sustain an initial move to the upside. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed.
While the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 43.74 points or 0.2 percent to a nearly three-month closing low of 24,932.08, the S&P 500 inched up 1.20 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 7,413.18 and the narrower Dow climbed 262.83 points or 0.5 percent to 52,210.08.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index jumped by 1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both rose by 0.4 percent.
Crude oil prices plummeted on Monday after the U.S. halted nearly two weeks of military attacks against Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $7.09 or 7.94 percent at $82.22 per barrel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
