Australian Markets Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock markets are sharply lower on Monday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is tumbling to below the 8,300.00 level, with weakness across most sectors led by gold miners and technology stocks. Energy stocks are the only bright spot amid spiking crude oil prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 132.00 points or 1.57 percent to 8,296.40, after hitting a low of 8,262.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 145.00 points or 1.68 percent to 8,483.30. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are losing almost 3 percent each, while Mineral Resources is slipping more than 4 percent and Fortescue is declining almost 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is gaining more than 1 percent, while Woodside Energy and Santos are adding almost 1 percent each. Origin Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 2 percent. WiseTech Global and Appen are tumbling almost 5 percent, while Zip is losing almost 1 percent and Xero is down more than 1 percent.

Gold miners are lower. Northern Star Resources, Newmont and Evolution Mining are sliding almost 6 percent each, while Resolute Mining is tumbling almost 8 percent and Genesis Minerals is declining almost 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are losing more than 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank is declining more than 2 percent and ANZ Banking is down almost 2 percent. In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.701 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Friday, extending the slump seen over the two previous sessions. With the extended nosedive, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 plunged to their lowest closing levels in over six months. The Dow and the Nasdaq dipped into contraction territory, reflecting a 10 percent plunge from their latest highs, before regaining some ground going into the end the day.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way lower, plummeting 443.08 points or 2.0 percent to 21,647.61, while the S&P 500 tumbled 100.01 points or 1.5 percent to 6,506.48 and the Dow slumped 443.96 points or 1.0 percent to 45,577.47.

The major European markets all also showed significant moves to the downside on the day. The German DAX Index dove by 2.0 percent, the French CAC 40 Index plunged by 1.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index tumbled by 1.4 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Friday as fresh attacks on Kuwait by Iran renewed concerns of a prolonged gulf war, stoking production disruption worries. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up by $1.68 or 1.75 percent at $97.82 per barrel.