FX.co ★ Australian Market Sharply Lower

The Australian market is experiencing significant losses on Thursday, extending the downturn from the previous session despite positive signals from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index has fallen below the 7,700 mark as traders respond to inflation data that heightened fears of an imminent interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

As of the latest trading, the S&P/ASX 200 Index has dropped 98.00 points or 1.26% to 7,685.00, having earlier reached a low of 7,654.20. The broader All Ordinaries Index is also down, slipping 94.80 points or 1.18% to 7,928.10. Australian stocks closed substantially lower on Wednesday.

In the mining sector, Rio Tinto is down 0.5%, BHP Group has lost over 1%, and Mineral Resources is down nearly 1%. Fortescue Metals remains flat.

The oil sector is predominantly lower, with Woodside Energy falling nearly 1%, Beach Energy dropping over 2%, Santos declining 1.5%, and Origin Energy edging down 0.1%.

In the technology sector, Block, the owner of Afterpay, has declined more than 1%, WiseTech Global is down nearly 1%, and Xero is edging down 0.4%. Conversely, Appen is up by more than 1%, and Zip has gained almost 2%.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and ANZ Banking are each losing nearly 2%, while National Australia Bank is down more than 2%.

In gold mining, Evolution Mining has dropped nearly 1%, Northern Star Resources declined over 1%, while Resolute Mining is up almost 1%, Gold Road Resources has edged up 0.1%, and Newmont has gained over 1%.

Other notable movements include Baby Bunting shares soaring 16% after the retailer projected a pro forma net profit of between $2 million and $4 million for fiscal year 2024.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.664 on Thursday.

In the United States, Wall Street saw modest gains on Wednesday after a cautious session as investors awaited the upcoming personal consumption expenditures price index report. In addition, data on first-quarter GDP, May's durable goods orders, and jobless claims are expected this week.

All major US indexes closed positively. Technology stocks led the gains, with the Nasdaq advancing 87.50 points or 0.49% to 17,805.16. The Dow gained 15.64 points or 0.04% to end at 39,127.80, while the S&P 500 added 8.60 points or 0.16% to close at 5,477.60.

In Europe, major markets ended lower. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined by 0.27%, Germany's DAX edged down 0.12%, and France's CAC 40 fell by 0.69%.

Crude oil prices dipped on Wednesday due to a significant increase in U.S. crude inventories last week. However, prices recovered slightly by the end of the session, with West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August rising by $0.07 to $80.90 a barrel.