The Australian stock market is halving its early losses in mid-market moves on Friday, snapping a three-session winning streak, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling below the 8,950 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 26.60 points or 0.30 percent to 8,946.60, after hitting a low of 8,905.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 30.70 points or 0.34 percent to 9,138.20. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Thursday.
Among major miners, Mineral Resources is down almost 1 percent, BHP Group is edging down 0.4 percent and Fortescue is losing almost 2 percent, while Rio Tinto is edging up 0.2 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy and Santos are declining almost 2 percent each, while Origin Energy is edging down 0.3 percent and Beach energy is losing more than 2 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay-owner Block is edging up 0.3 percent. Xero is slipping almost 3 percent and Appen is losing almost 1 percent, while Zip and WiseTech Global are declining more than 2 percent each.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while ANZ Banking is edging down 0.1 percent. Gold miners are weak. Evolution Mining is losing almost 2 percent, while Newmont and Resolute Mining are edging down 0.1 to 0.2 percent each. Genesis Minerals is edging up 0.2 percent and Northern Star Resources is flat.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.707 on Friday.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
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.