FX.co ★ Australian Market Notably Lower

The Australian stock market commenced the week on a downward trajectory, breaking a three-session losing streak, influenced by the broadly adverse cues from Wall Street seen last Friday. The S&P/ASX 200 index is dipping significantly below the 8,300 mark, impacted by downturns in the gold mining, financial, and technology sectors. However, this decline is cushioned somewhat by gains in the iron ore mining and energy sectors.

Currently, the S&P/ASX 200 is down by 36.60 points, representing a 0.44% decrease, placing it at 8,225.20, after hitting a low of 8,217.60 earlier in the day. Similarly, the broader All Ordinaries Index fell by 35.00 points or 0.41% to settle at 8,485.10. Notably, Australian stocks had ended the previous trading session with significant gains.

In the mining sector, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are showing slight increases ranging from 0.1% to 0.4%, whereas Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are witnessing nearly 1% gains each. The oil sector is displaying a positive trend with Woodside Energy advancing over 1%, Beach Energy climbing over 2%, and Santos rising close to 2%. Conversely, Origin Energy shows a minor decline of 0.1%.

Regarding technology stocks, Afterpay owner Block has seen a decline of 2.5%, with Zip dropping nearly 2%, WiseTech Global down by 0.2%, and Xero slipping by 1.5%. However, Appen bucks the trend with a gain of 3.5%.

Gold miners are predominantly experiencing declines. Evolution Mining and Newmont have dropped between 0.3% to 0.5%, while Northern Star Resources and Gold Road Resources have each fallen nearly 1%. Resolute Mining remains stable.

In the financial sector, among the 'big four' banks, National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking, and Westpac each report slight declines of 0.5%, while Commonwealth Bank faces a larger drop of nearly 1%.

On the foreign exchange front, the Australian dollar is valued at $0.623 as of Monday.

In the United States, Wall Street saw significant declines on Friday, with major indices, particularly the tech-heavy Nasdaq, experiencing sharper losses. This was due to yields on the 10-Year Treasury Note reaching near an eight-month high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down by 333.59 points or 0.77%, to 42,992.21, recovering slightly from a day's low of 42,761.56. The S&P 500 settled at 5,970.84, down by 66.75 points or 1.11% from an intraday low of 5,932.95. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq concluded the day lower by 298.33 points or 1.49%, closing at 19,722.03, after rebounding from a low of 19,533.40.

In contrast, European markets exhibited upward movement. Germany's DAX increased by 0.68%, France's CAC 40 grew by 1%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose by 0.16%.

Crude oil prices increased last Friday, bolstered by reports of a significant drop in U.S. crude inventories and as geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine continued to exert pressure on the markets. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for February delivery settled at $70.60 per barrel, marking an increase of approximately 1.4%.