(RTTNews) – The Australian stock market continues to experience early losses in mid-market trading on Wednesday, building on losses from the previous session amid mixed signals from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index trades well below 8,300, with broad sector weakness driven by declining metal prices.
Currently at 8,227.10 (-24.80 points or -0.30%), the index has already reached a session low of 8,210.10. The broader All Ordinaries Index follows with a 34.10 point (-0.40%) decline to 8,463.90, mirroring Tuesday’s significant downturn.
Key mining names face sharp declines: BHP Group (-0.99%), Fortescue Metals (-4.89%), Rio Tinto (-1.99%), and Mineral Resources (-3.31%). The sectoral pressure reflects sustained pressure on commodity prices.
Oil equities show volatility: Woodside Energy gains 3.12%, Origin Energy rises 0.20%, Santos drops 0.30%, and Beach Energy falls 1.05%. The energy sector remains sensitive to global price movements.
Technology stocks present mixed signals: Zip gains 0.20%, WiseTech Global rises 1.89%, while Afterpay (Block) plunges 3.99%, Xero declines 0.99%, and Appen tumbles 32.45% after underwhelming results.
Banking sector activity: Commonwealth Bank rises 0.99%, Westpac increases 0.40%, ANZ Banking gains 1.02%, and National Australia Bank falls 0.50%. The Big Four shows divergent performance Amid economic uncertainty.
Gold mining sector weakness continues: Resolute Mining (-2.22%), Evolution Mining (-2.31%), Northern Star Resources (-2.99%), Gold Road Resources (-3.01%), and Newmont (-1.99%) all face double-digit losses.
Flight Centre’s shares plummet 11.99% despite reporting a 7% profit growth, attributed to successful automation initiatives. Bapcor’s shares surge 14.99% following cost-cutting progress, while Worley’s shares soar 10.99% after a $500M buyback and profit jump.
PointsBet experiences outsized movement, rising 31.77% on takeover speculation. Kelsian Group crashes 19.28% after reporting a 7.9% profit decline.
Construction activity data: Total construction work increased 0.5% sequentially in Q4 2024 (A$73.936B), below forecasts but up 1.8% year-over-year. The Australian Bureau of Statistics noted slower growth compared to prior quarters.
The Australian dollar maintains its position at $0.633 in currency markets Wednesday.
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