FX.co ★ Australian Market Slightly Lower

The Australian stock market experienced a modest decline in volatile trading on Wednesday, undoing the previous session's gains. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dipped below the 8,000 mark, influenced by mixed signals from Wall Street. Weakness in energy and financial stocks was somewhat balanced by gains in mining shares. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 13.90 points, or 0.17%, to 7,998.00, after fluctuating between a low of 8,000.60 and a high of 8,024.50. The broader All Ordinaries index decreased by 8.40 points, or 0.10%, to 8,208.60. On Tuesday, Australian stocks had closed slightly higher.

In the mining sector, BHP Group rose by almost 1%, Rio Tinto climbed over 1%, and Fortescue Metals advanced more than 2%. Mineral Resources surged by more than 17%.

Oil stocks generally saw declines. Origin Energy edged down by 0.4%, Santos lost over 1%, Woodside Energy fell by almost 2%, and Beach Energy was down nearly 1%. In the tech sector, Block, Afterpay's parent company, edged up by 0.3%, and Zip gained more than 1%, whereas WiseTech Global edged down 0.4% and Xero declined by almost 1%. Appen remained flat.

Among the major banks, Commonwealth Bank dropped by over 1%, while National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking, and Westpac fell by almost 1% each.

Gold miners saw mixed results. Evolution Mining and Resolute Mining advanced by more than 2% each, Gold Road Resources added almost 3%, and Newmont rose by more than 1%, while Northern Star Resources fell by more than 2%.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar traded at $0.665 on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated on Tuesday but ended mostly higher. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 extended gains from Monday's session, while the Dow Jones bucked the trend and dipped. The Nasdaq climbed 141.28 points, or 0.8%, to 17,025.88, and the S&P 500 rose 24.47 points, or 0.5%, to 5,495.52. Meanwhile, the Dow decreased by 92.63 points, or 0.2%, to 40,736.96.

In Europe, major markets moved downward. The German DAX index fell by 1.0%, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index slid by 0.8%, and France's CAC 40 index slipped by 0.2%.

Crude oil prices plunged on Tuesday, ahead of inflation data and amid concerns about the global economy's health. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery dropped $2.43, or 3.54%, to settle at $66.28 per barrel.