The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Tuesday, extending the losses of the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying just above the 7,100 level, with the absence of fresh cues from Wall Street. Gold miners and banks are weighing down the market with mining giants and energy stocks offering resistance.
Traders remain concerned about the rising COVID-19 infection cases in the country's second-most populous state, which went into a 7-day lockdown over the weekend and is expected to be extended to contain the infection rate.
Traders are also cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy decision later in the day and the GDP data due Wednesday.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 25.20 points or 0.35 percent to 7,136.40, after touching a high of 7,129.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 21.30 points or 0.29 percent to 7,385.40. Australian ended slightly lower on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 1 percent each, Rio Tinto is adding more than 1 percent, while OZ Minerals and Mineral Resources are up almost 2 percent each. Fortescue Metals is rising more than 3 percent.
Oil stocks are higher after crude oil prices climbed overnight. Oil Search, Santos and Origin Energy are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Beach energy is up almost 2 percent. Woodside Petroleum is adding more than 1 percent.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank and Westpac are losing almost 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.3 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay and Xero are edging down 0.4 percent, while Appen is losing almost 3 percent. WiseTech Global is gaining almost 1 percent.
Gold miners are mostly lower, with Resolute Mining and Gold Road Resources losing more than 2 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining are down more than 1 percent each. Newcrest Mining is edging down 0.4 percent.
In other news, shares in Nine Entertainment Co Holdings is up more than 2 percent after it signed multi-year content-supply deals with Google and Facebook under Australia's news media bargaining code. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Rivals Seven West Media Ltd and News Corp also signed similar deals.
In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in May, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from IHS Markit Economics revealed on Tuesday with a survey record manufacturing PMI score of 60.4. That's up from 59.7 in April and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
Separately, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed on Tuesday that the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in May, and at a faster pace, with a Performance of Manufacturing Index score of 61.8. That's up from 61.7 in April and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. This was the highest monthly result for the Australian PMI since March 2018 and a eighth consecutive month of recovery from the severe disruptions of Covid-19 in the second quarter of 2020.
The Reserve Bank of Australia will also wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The RBA is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at the record low 0.10 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.776 on Tuesday.
Overnight, the U.S. markets were closed for Memorial Day holiday.
European stocks closed weak on Monday with markets in the U.K. closed for Bank Holiday. However, Germany's DAX slid 0.64 percent and France's CAC 40 ended lower by 0.57 percent.
Crude oil futures climbed higher on Monday amid expectations that demand will outstrip supply. The West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July climbed $0.39 or 0.9% to $66.91 a barrel.
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