The Australian stock market is trimming its early losses in mid-market moves on Friday, following the losses in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,950 level, with weakness in gold miners and financial stocks partially offset by gains in energy and technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 30.70 points or 0.44 percent to 8,924.30, after hitting a low of 8,902.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 27.80 points or 0.30 percent to 9,145.80. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Thursday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto and BHP Group are edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Mineral Resources is surging more than 5 percent and Fortescue is gaining almost 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Beach energy is edging up 0.2 percent. Origin Energy is edging down 0.5 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block and Xero are gaining more than 1 percent each, while WiseTech Global is adding almost 1 percent, Appen is advancing almost 2 percent and Zip is soaring almost 12 percent after the consumer lender it upgraded its guidance for the full-year 2026 following the strong third quarter.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are losing almost 1 percent each, while Westpac is declining more than 1 percent and ANZ Banking is edging down 0.4 percent. Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources is declining more than 1 percent, Evolution Mining is losing more than 3 percent, Newmont is edging up 0.1 percent and Resolute Mining is down more than 1 percent, while Genesis Minerals is gaining more than 1 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.716 on Friday.
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Market Analysis
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.