The Australian stock market is declining on Thursday after U.S. stocks closed lower overnight following a sell-off in technology stocks. Investors remained cautious as they monitored the ongoing U.S. stimulus talks and a stalemate in Brexit negotiations.
Investors also digested news that the Australian government's controversial cashless welfare scheme has been extended for another two years.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 28.40 points or 0.42 percent to 6,700.10, after touching a low of 6,684.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 29.50 points or 0.42 percent to 6,935.90. Australian stocks closed higher for the seventh straight session on Wednesday.
Tech stocks are notably lower after their U.S. peers fell overnight. Appen is sliding more than 12 percent, while WiseTech Global and Afterpay are losing more than 2 percent each.
Oil stocks are also weak after crude oil prices extended losses overnight. Oil Search is losing almost 1 percent, Santos is declining 0.6 percent and Woodside Petroleum is down 0.5 percent.
Gold miners are notably lower after gold prices fell overnight. Evolution Mining is tumbling more than 4 percent and Newcrest Mining is declining more than 2 percent.
Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals is rising 3 percent, while Rio Tinto is lower by 0.4 percent and BHP Group is down 0.3 percent.
The Northern Australia Committee, in an interim report into Rio Tinto's destruction of the Jukaan Gorge Caves, has called up on the mining giant to negotiate compensation with the traditional owners of the site as well as reconstruct and remediate the site.
The big four banks are mixed. National Australia Bank is adding 0.6 percent and Commonwealth Bank is up 0.2 percent, while ANZ Banking is lower by 0.3 percent and Westpac is down 0.2 percent.
In economic news, Australia will see December consumer inflation expectations from the Melbourne Institute today.
On Wall Street, stocks retreated after posting fresh intraday highs on Wednesday and ended the session notably lower due to a sell-off in technology shares. Investors were tracking the developments on the fiscal stimulus front, and the updates on the coronavirus vaccine front. Profit taking after recent gains also contributed to the market's fall.
The Dow ended with a loss of 105.07 points or 0.35 percent at 30,068.81, after hitting a high of 30,319.70. The S&P 500, which spurted to 3,712.39, ended the day at 3,672.82, losing 29.43 points or 0.79 percent, while the Nasdaq slumped 243.82 points or 1.94 percent to settle at 12,338.95, way off a record high of 12,607.14 touched in early trades.
The major European closed mostly higher on Wednesday. Germany, the U.K., and Switzerland closed positive, while France drifted lower.
Crude oil futures settled slightly lower on Wednesday, weighed down by data showing a sharp increase in crude oil stockpiles in the U.S. in the week ended October 4. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January settled at $45.52 a barrel, down $0.08 or about 0.2 percent from previous close.
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