Australian shares fall as miners slide, oil prices stoke inflation worries

Australian shares fell on Tuesday as weak commodity prices hurt mining and gold stocks, while rising crude oil prices heightened inflation worries and reinforced expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate hike.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.5% to 8,709.6, as of 0005 GMT.

The benchmark ended 0.1% higher on Monday.

The Middle East conflict-linked surge in oil prices has resurfaced inflation worries, with investors raising their bets on an interest rate hike at the Fed’s next meeting on Wednesday.

Traders are pricing in a 90% chance that the Fed will raise interest rates by 25 basis points at its upcoming policy meeting to fight inflation related to high oil prices, according to CME’s FedWatch.

Australia will hold its next rate decision meeting at the end of this month, where some economists expect rates to be hiked by 25 bps to 4.60%.

On the bourse, the mining sub-index fell 2.2% to its lowest level since early August, declining for a fourth straight session as iron ore and copper prices hit a three-week low.

Top players BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue dipped between 1% and 2.5%. Gold miners hit a near four-week low, plunging 2.7% after prices of the precious metal fell to a more than one-month low in the previous session.

Sub-index heavyweights Northern Star fell 3.5%, and Evolution Mining slid 3.9%.

Healthcare stocks and consumer staples extended gains from the previous session, adding 0.8% and 0.5%, respectively.

Financials slipped 0.1%, with all the ‘Big Four’ banks losing between 0.2% and 0.5%.

Local technology stocks were up 1.6% after spending six consecutive sessions in the red.

Top executives at US artificial intelligence companies raised safety concerns and called for a slowdown in AI development, rattling markets.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index lost 0.1% to 13,550.73.