The Australian stock market is slipping to modest losses in mid-market trading on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street on Monday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling well below the 8,700.00 level, with weakness in financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in mining and energy stocks.
Traders also remained cautious ahead of the release of Australia's 2026 federal budget later in the day.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 32.20 points or 0.37 percent to 8,669.60, after touching a high of 8,713.40 and a low of 8,619.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 35.30 points or 0.40 percent to 8,907.10. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Monday.
Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 3 percent, BHP Group is advancing more than 3 percent, Fortescue is adding almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is up more than 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy, Santos and Woodside Energy are gaining almost 1 percent each. Origin Energy is flat.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 2 percent, Appen is slipping almost 2 percent and Zip is declining almost 3 percent, while Xero and WiseTech Global are tumbling more than 5 percent each.
Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star Resources is gaining almost 4 percent, Newmont is surging almost 5 percent, Resolute Mining is jumping more than 5 percent, Genesis Minerals rising more than 6 percent and Evolution Mining is advancing almost 4 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are losing more than 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are declining almost 2 percent each. In economic news, Australia's NAB Business Confidence Index rose to -24 in April 2026 from -29 in the previous month, which had marked the second-largest monthly drop on record amid surging energy costs tied to the Middle East conflict. Meanwhile, business conditions slid to 3 from 6, the second-lowest since 2020 and the fourth straight decline.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.723 on Tuesday.
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Market Analysis
May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.