Australian Market Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Monday, extending snapping a three-session winning streak, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling below the 9,200.00 level, with weakness in financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in energy and mining stocks on spiking commodity prices amid the military conflict in the middle-east.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 29.60 points or 0.32 percent to 9,169.00, after hitting a low of 9,119.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 35.40 points or 0.38 percent to 9,400.20. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Friday.

Among the major miners, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Fortescue is tumbling almost 5 percent. BHP Group is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is jumping almost 9 percent, Woodside Energy is surging almost 6 percent and Santos is advancing more than 6 percent, while Origin Energy is losing almost 2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is tumbling almost 5 percent, WiseTech Global is declining almost 4 percent, Appen is slipping almost 7 percent, Zip is sliding more than 6 percent and Xero is losing almost 4 percent.

Gold miners are higher. Northern Star Resources is gaining almost 5 percent, Evolution Mining is surging more than 6 percent, Resolute Mining is soaring almost 10 percent, Newmont is jumping more than 7 percent and Genesis Minerals is advancing almost 8 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are declining almost 3 percent each, while ANZ Banking is losing more than 2 percent and National Australia Bank is slipping more than 3 percent. In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in February, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 51.0. That's down from 52.3 in January, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.707 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved notably lower during trading on Friday, extending the pullback seen during the previous session. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq adding to the steep loss posted on Thursday.

The major averages ended the day well off their lows of the session but still in negative territory. The Dow slumped 521.28 points or 1.1 percent to 48,977.92, the Nasdaq slid 210.17 points or 0.9 percent to 22,688.21 and the S&P 500 fell 29.98 points or 0.4 percent to 6,878.88.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index closed just below the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.5 percent.

Crude oil prices spiked on Friday amid growing concerns about a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude for April surged $1.71 or 2.6 percent to $66.92 barrel - although it's expected to jump sharply again now that hostilities have broken out.