The Australian stock market is declining on Tuesday following the negative cues overnight from Wall Street amid the continued surge in coronavirus cases in several parts of the world and uncertainty ahead of two key Senate run-off elections in Georgia later today.
News that New South Wales recorded four new locally acquired coronavirus cases on Tuesday after reporting zero cases on Monday also dampened sentiment.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is declining 23.30 points or 0.35 percent to 6,660.90, after falling to a low of 6,635.10. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 21.00 points or 0.30 percent to 6,932.70. Australian shares closed notably higher on Monday.
In the banking sector, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are declining in a range of 0.5 percent to 0.8 percent. National Australia Bank is losing more than 1 percent.
Among oil stocks, Oil Search is lower by almost 2 percent, while Santos i and Woodside Petroleum are declining more than 1 percent each after crude oil prices fell overnight.
Among the major miners, BHP Group is rising more than 2 percent, Rio Tinto is higher by 2 percent and Fortescue Metals is advancing more than 1 percent.
Gold miners are also higher after gold prices rose to a two-month high overnight. Newcrest Mining is rising almost 3 percent and Evolution Mining is adding more than 1 percent.
Qantas Airways has commenced the sale of seats on international flights across its network that are expected to start from July 1 this year. However, the airline's shares are lower by almost 2 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks failed to sustain an initial move to the upside and closed sharply lower on the first trading day of the New Year on Monday amid concerns about the recent spike in coronavirus cases in several parts of the world, with a new strain of the virus being detected in the U.S. for the first time. Traders may also have been reluctant to continue pushing stocks higher amid uncertainty ahead of two key Senate runoffs in Georgia on Tuesday. The outcome of the runoff elections will determine which party controls the Senate and could have a major impact on what President-elect Joe Biden is able to accomplish.
The Dow slumped 382.59 points or 1.3 percent to 30,223.89, the Nasdaq plunged 189.84 points or 1.5 percent to 12,698.45 and the S&P 500 tumbled 55.42 points or 1.5 percent to 3,700.65.
The major European moved to the upside on Monday, but closed well off their best levels. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index surged up by 1.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.7 percent and the German DAX Index inched up by 0.1 percent.
Crude oil futures ended sharply lower on Monday amid concerns over outlook for energy demand and on news about the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries or OPEC and allies' failure to reach an agreement on crude output. WTI crude for February ended down $0.90 or about 1.9 percent at $47.62 a barrel.
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