The Australian stock market is declining on Tuesday following the overnight losses on Wall Street amid concerns about whether lawmakers in Washington will reach an agreement on a new stimulus bill. The rising number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. and Europe also dampened sentiment.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 11.00 points or 0.18 percent to 6,218.40, after touching a low of 6,199.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 9.10 points or 0.14 percent to 6,426.50. Australian stocks hit a seven-month high on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group is declining almost 1 percent and Rio Tinto is down 0.4 percent, while Fortescue Metals is advancing more than 1 percent.
BHP Group reported a 7 percent increase in first-quarter iron ore production and affirmed its full-year production outlook.
In the banking space, Westpac, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are lower in a range of 0.1 percent to 0.9 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower after crude oil prices edged lower overnight. Santos is declining almost 1 percent and Woodside Petroleum is down 0.6 percent, while Oil Search is adding 0.5 percent.
Gold miners are mixed after gold prices rose modestly overnight. Evolution Mining is losing almost 2 percent, while Newcrest Mining is up 0.2 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks closed sharply lower on Monday, reflecting concerns about whether lawmakers in Washington will reach an agreement on a new stimulus bill. In a post on Twitter, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill revealed that the Democratic leader spoke with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for just over an hour on Saturday. Hammill said that there remains an array of additional differences that must be addressed in a comprehensive manner in the next 48 hours.
The Dow tumbled 410.89 points or 1.4 percent to 28,195.42, the Nasdaq plunged 192.67 points or 1.7 percent to 11,478.88 and the S&P 500 slumped 56.89 points or 1.6 percent to 3,426.92.
The major European also moved to the downside on Monday. While the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index dropped by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.6 percent.
Crude oil futures ended slightly lower on Monday, weighed down by lingering concerns about energy demand outlook due to rising coronavirus cases. WTI crude for November delivery edged down $0.05 or about 0.1 percent to $40.83 a barrel.
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