The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,200 mark, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, dragged by losses in energy and financial stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 24.50 points or 0.34 percent to 7,239.60, after hitting a low of 7,236.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 21.40 points or 0.29 percent to 7,435.30. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are edging up 0.2 percent each, while Rio Tinto is edging down 0.3 percent and Mineral Resources is losing almost 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos and Beach energy are losing almost 1 percent each, while Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are edging down 0.2 percent each.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 1 percent and WiseTech Global is edging up 0.1 percent, while Xero is edging down 0.2 percent. Zip is flat. Shares in Appen are plummeting almost 18 percent after it revealed that fiscal 2023 revenue will decline materially.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are losing almost 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each.
Among gold miners, Resolute Mining is gaining more than 1 percent, while Gold Road Resources, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are advancing almost 1 percent each. Newcrest Mining is losing almost 1 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.677 on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks remained mostly lower throughout the trading day on Tuesday after coming under pressure early in the session. The major averages all moved to the downside on the day after ending Monday's trading narrowly mixed.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 77.36 points or 0.6 percent to 12,179.55 and the S&P 500 fell 18.95 points or 0.5 percent to 4,119.17. The narrower Dow flirted with positive territory late in the session but closed down 56.88 points or 0.2 percent at 33,561.81.
The major European also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.6 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.2 and the German DAX Index closed nearly unchanged.
Crude oil prices shook off early weakness to finish higher amid expectations of higher seasonal demand and on the U.S. government's plans to refill the emergency oil reserve. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June settled at $73.71 a barrel, gaining $0.55 or 0.8 percent.
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