Australian shares are trading modestly lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous six sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 8,700 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in mining and financial stocks partially offset by gains in energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 29.70 points or 0.34 percent to 8,681.00, after hitting a low of 8,677.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 27.50 points or 0.31 percent to 8,907.50. Australian stocks ended notably lower on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 2 percent, while Fortescue, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are down more than 1 percent each.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is adding almost 1 percent, Santos is edging up 0.3 percent and Woodside Energy is gaining more than 1 percent, while Beach energy is losing more than 2 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing almost 2 percent. Zip and Xero are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while WiseTech Global is gaining almost 1 percent and Appen is advancing more than 2 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.3 percent each, while National Australia bank is down more than 1 percent and Westpac is losing almost 1 percent.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are losing more than 1 percent each, while Newmont is declining more than 3 percent and Genesis Minerals is down almost 1 percent. Resolute Mining is gaining almost 2 percent.
In other news, shares in Codan are jumping almost 14 percent after it lifted its full-year earnings outlook.
Shares in OOh!media are skyrocketing almost 38 percent after it received an unsolicited, non-binding, indicative proposal from Pacific Equity Partners to acquire it for $1.40 per share in a deal valuing the outdoor advertising group at about $754 million..
Shares in G8 Education are tumbling almost 23 percent after it suspended operations at about 40 underperforming childcare centres amid weaker occupancy, cost pressures and rising sector competition. In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.719 on Wednesday.
On the Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday after ending yesterday's choppy session narrowly mixed. The major averages all moved to the downside on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a notable slump.
The major averages ended the day off their lows of the session but still in negative territory. The Nasdaq slid 223.30 points or 0.9 percent to 24,663.80, the S&P 500 fell 35.11 points or 0.5 percent to 7,138.90 and the Dow edged down 25.86 points or 0.1 percent to 49,141.93. Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index crept up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index slipped by 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.5 percent.
Crude oil prices soared on Tuesday amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran stalemate, although it gave ground later in the day following reports that Iran readied a revised peace plan. West Texas Intermediate crude for June month delivery was up $3.44 or 3.57 percent at $99.81 per barrel.
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Market Analysis
April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.