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

According to Business Recorder, Australian shares slipped on Tuesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 down 0.5% at 8,709.6 as of 0005 GMT. Softer commodity prices weighed on miners and gold producers, while higher crude oil prices revived inflation concerns. The index had closed 0.1% higher the previous day.

Oil's climb, linked to the Middle East conflict, has increased bets on a Federal Reserve rate increase at its meeting on Wednesday. CME's FedWatch tool shows traders pricing a 90% chance of a 25 basis point hike to fight oil-driven inflation. Australia's next rate decision meeting falls at the end of this month, and some economists anticipate a rise to 4.60%.

Within the index, miners fell 2.2%, hitting their weakest point since early August and marking a fourth successive session of losses as iron ore and copper slipped to a three-week low. BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue each dropped between 1% and 2.5%, while gold miners slid 2.7% to a near four-week low after bullion hit its lowest in more than a month in the previous session. Northern Star fell 3.5% and Evolution Mining slid 3.9%, while healthcare and consumer staples added 0.8% and 0.5%. Local technology stocks rose 1.6% after six straight sessions of losses, and the New Zealand S&P/NZX 50 index lost 0.1% to 13,550.73.