Australian Market Slightly Lower

(RTTNews) - The Australian market is trading slightly lower on Thursday, snapping a four-session winning streak, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 8,950 level, with weakness mining stocks partially offset by gains in energy and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 9.00 points or 0.10 percent to 8,957.30, after hitting a low of 8,935.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 11.60 points or 0.13 percent to 9,174.30. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto, Fortescue and Mineral Resources are declining more than 1 percent each, while BHP Group is losing almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is adding more than 1 percent, Woodside Energy is gaining almost 1 percent and Origin Energy is edging up 0.2 percent, while Santos is edging down 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are flat, while Zip and Appen are gaining more than 2 percent each. Xero is down more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank is edging up 0.5 percent and ANZ Banking is adding more than 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Resolute Mining are losing almost 3 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is declining more than 2 percent, Newmont is down almost 1 percent and Genesis Minerals is slipping almost 2 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.702 on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks saw significant volatility immediately following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday but came under considerable selling pressure in the latter part of the trading session.

The major averages all showed significant moves to the downside, closing firmly in negative territory. The Nasdaq plunged 354.69 points or 1.3 percent to 26,021.66, the S&P 500 tumbled 91.25 points or 1.2 percent to 7,420.10 and the Dow slumped 507.12 points or 1 percent to 51,492.55.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both inched up by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices ticked higher on Wednesday as energy experts remain skeptical of an early restoration of normal oil trade in the gulf region despite the upcoming U.S.-Iran deal. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was up $0.45 or 0.59 percent at $76.50 per barrel.