(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market was trading sharply lower on Wednesday after Wall Street finished with another steep triple-digit loss overnight amid continuing uncertainty in the U.S. financial sector. At 9:18 p.m. ET, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 176 points or 3.80% at 4,443, after closing up 1.72% on Tuesday following a move by the Reserve Bank of Australia to reduce the country’s official interest rate by a full 100 basis points. The broader All Ordinaries index was losing 174 points or 3.78% to 4,424.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened weaker for an eleventh straight session on Wednesday. The Aussie opened at US$0.7053-0.7062, down from Tuesday’s close of US$0.7268-0.7275.

On Tuesday, Wall Street closed lower for a fifth straight session, as investors remained skeptical that further steps announced by the Federal Reserve would help inject liquidity into the markets. The Dow closed down 508 points or 5.11% at 9,447, the Nasdaq fell 108 points or 5.80% to close at 1,756 and the S&P 500 dropped 61 points or 5.74% to finish at 996.

On the economic front, Westpac Bank and the Melbourne Institute’s monthly survey report showed an 11% drop in consumer sentiment for October from its levels in September. The index posted a seasonally adjusted reading of 82 points for the month, down from 92.2 points in September.

Meanwhile, approvals for new housing loans in Australia declined in both number and value in August, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The bureau said that the total number of commitments to purchase established dwellings fell a seasonally adjusted 1.9% from a month before to 48,903. In terms of value, overall dwelling finance commitments, excluding alterations and additions, were down by a seasonally adjusted 3.0% to A$17.513 billion.

Among banking stocks, National Australia Bank was down 6.92%, and ANZ Banking Group fell 5.51%. Westpac slipped 5.11%, investment bank Macquarie Group plunged 7.63%, and rival St. George bank declined 5.47%.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia was on a trading halt for a share sale to help fund its A$2.1 billion takeover of BankWest and its wealth management business, St Andrews Australia, the Australian unit of British bank HBOS plc.

In the resources sector, index leader BHP Billiton plunged 6.15%, and Rio Tinto fell 6.10%. Gold miners were stronger, after gold closed higher on Tuesday. Lihir Gold gained 1.70%, and Newcrest Mining added 2.64%.

On Tuesday, crude oil futures for November delivery snapped a four-session losing streak and closed higher, climbing back above the key $90 a barrel mark, amid reports that Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may cut output at its next meeting as prices have moved more than $50 a barrel off the record highs from three months ago. Traders also await the Energy Information Administration’s inventory report on Wednesday. Oil closed up $2.25 at $90.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In the Asian session Wednesday, crude was down $0.90 at $89.16 in electronic trading.

Among energy stocks, Woodside lost 4.61%, Santos dropped 5.43%, and Oil Search fell 2.75%.

In the retail sector, David Jones dropped 3.83%, Coles’ owner Wesfarmers lost 2.75%, and giant retailer Woolworths fell 2.33%.

Property trust Stockland Group fell 9.3% after raising A$300 million in a share placement at A$5.30 per share.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, Releases, Stocks, UK, USA.

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