"We are in a volatile market and we are just at the mercy of the ebb and flow of sentiment, which is going to fluctuate between optimism and pessimism but broadly speaking we are still more confident that Europe is moving towards taking control of the situation," said Colin Whitehead, analyst at Fat Prophets. Market tension flared after rating agencies on Monday warned that last week's EU summit, billed by some as a last chance to save the euro, has not gone far enough to ease immediate concerns on the region's debt markets. "I think next year the market is going to be less focused on Europe as the sole determinant of market direction because we'll have a bit more confidence about the other two major macro themes, being the US recovery and China's ongoing industrialsation," said Whitehead. The materials sector was beaten down in morning trade, global miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, were both down over 2 percent. Australia's big four banks were also pushed lower, with Westpac and NAB the worst performers both down over 2 percent. Paladin Energy was down 4 percent in morning trade to A$1.57. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 63.2 points to 4,189.6 at 0020 GMT. The index rose 1.2 percent on Monday. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index slipped 0.3 percent to 3,289.4. STOCKS ON THE MOVE Shares in outdoor advertising firm oOh! Media Group rose 5.1 percent to A$0.31 after CHAMP Private Equity, one of Australia's top buyout firms, confirmed it would offer A$163 million ($166 million) for the media Group after looking at the company's books, the target firm said on Tuesday. Shares in Orica, the world's biggest explosives maker, slipped 2 percent to A$25.29 after the company announced it had resumed production of ammonium nitrate at Kooragang Island in Australia, after the plant was shut down in November following a chemical leak. Shares in New Zealand online trading company Trade Me Ltd traded at NZ$2.90 as it debuted on markets in New Zealand and Australia on Tuesday, versus a NZ$2.70 issue price. Australian publisher Fairfax has sold down a one third stake in Trade Me as part of its move to reduce debt and concentrate on core business in a tough advertising market. Shares in Woodside Petroleum fell 2.5 percent to A$31.56 after Australia's resource minister did not rule out extending the December 2012 deadline that Woodside Petroleum and its partners face to make a final investment decision on developing the Browse offshore gas project.