Australian shares have slipped further after the latest employment numbers showed job creation had slowed over September, although the nation's jobless rate has stayed steady at around a 50-year low.
The end of a two-day rally on Wall Street set the tone for the day's trade.
Nearly all industry sectors on the benchmark ASX 200 index fell aside from energy stocks, which were boosted by strong quarterly production reports from major players.
Among the losers were industrials, real estate and tech firms, as well as miners and healthcare stocks.
Westpac, National Australia Bank and the Commonwealth Bank ended higher, while ANZ was flat.
The major indices came off their lows with the All Ordinaries finishing down 1.2 per cent, to 6,919, and the ASX 200 index lost 1 per cent, to 6,731.
The Australian dollar weakened further after the jobs figures came out.
The local currency fell below 62.30 US cents during the day as investors bet that the Reserve Bank would continue to slow the pace of interest rate increases.
At 4:30pm AEDT, it had recovered some ground to around 62.61 US cents.
CBA currency strategist Joseph Capurso said he expects the Australian dollar to fall below 60 US because of a global recession, the stronger greenback and slowing Chinese economy.
Battery materials maker Novonix jumped by as much as one quarter after it said it had been selected to enter negotiations to receive $US150 million ($239 million) in grant funding from the US Department of Energy to expand domestic production.
The worst performers on the index were copper miner Sandfire Resources (-13.2 per cent) and data centre operator Megaport (-11.8 per cent).
Gold miner Evolution Mining (-8 per cent) fell after it said gold production dropped from July to September.
Buy now, pay later firm Zip (+1.6 per cent) said revenue for the September quarter rose by nearly one fifth, to $163 million, as transaction volumes rose to $2.2 billion.
The number of active customers climbed by 17 per cent from a year ago to 7.4 million.
Energy crisis profits
The global energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine has been profitable for Australia's big oil and gas companies.
Santos (+1.9 per cent) said September quarter revenue nearly doubled, to a record high of $US2.2 billion ($3.5 billion), because of higher sales and a surge in liquefied natural gas prices.
The company said its average realised LNG price rose by nearly two-thirds from July to September.
Production was boosted by the takeover of Papua New Guinea-based Oil Search last year.
Meanwhile, Woodside Energy (+6.2 per cent) saw record quarterly production of 51.2 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Record sales saw it make a record revenue, of $US5.9 billion ($9.4 billion), over the quarter.
It also raised its production forecast for the year.
Woodside doubled its output after merging with BHP's petroleum business.
Wall Street in the red
US stocks turned lower after a two day rally as the cost of government borrowing soared, and more warnings came from corporate giants about economic storm clouds on the horizon.
All three major stock indices finished in the red and interest rates on US Government bonds resumed their rise, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hitting a 14-year high.
There were mixed profit reports from big companies.
Abbott Laboratories reported weaker growth in international medical device sales because of the strong greenback and supply challenges in China.
There was also a fall in sales of COVID-19 test kits as testing declined because of a slower pace of infections.
Consumer products maker Procter & Gamble and insurer Travelers Companies posted better-than-expected quarterly profits.
Electric vehicle company Tesla saw record third quarter revenue, of $US21.45 billion ($34.2 billion), and deliveries reached 343,000 over the September quarter, also a record thanks to a ramp up in China.
Third quarter profit doubled from a year ago to $US3.3 billion ($5.3 billion) because of higher vehicle sales.
Price rises for raw materials, and spending on new factories and battery production, squeezed Tesla's profit margins.
Netflix shares jumped 13 per cent after it added 2.4 million subscribers globally over the third quarter.
The Dow Jones index fell 0.3 per cent, to 30,424, the S&P 500 fell 0.7 per cent, to 3,695, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.9 per cent, to 10,681.
David Keator from wealth management firm Keator Group said steep interest rises by the US Federal Reserve to curb inflation were dampening investor appetite.
"We saw a bear market bounce, but the market is still unsure as [to] when the Fed is going to recognise what they've done, to date, is beginning to take effect," he said.
"The Fed is taking its mandate of tackling inflation seriously, but there's been chatter of tightening too much."
In economic news, US housing starts fell 8.1 per cent in September, compared to a near-14-per cent bounce in August.
The Federal Reserve said the US economy was continuing to expand, although it was flat in some regions and declined in a couple of areas, and price pressures remained elevated.
"Outlooks grew more pessimistic amidst growing concerns about weakening demand," the Fed said in its Beige Book.
In the UK, inflation was back at a 40-year high as consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 10.1 per cent, matching the 40-year high reached in July.
The increase was fuelled by higher prices for food, energy and transport.
Political turmoil continued, with Prime Minister Liz Truss refusing calls for her to resign, and the loss of another cabinet minister with Home Secretary Suella Braverman resigning after she breached the ministerial code.
That news weighed on European shares.
The FTSE 100 in London fell 0.2 per cent, to 6,925, the DAX in Germany fell 0.2 per cent, as well, to 12,741, and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.4 per cent, to 6,041.
Commodities
Oil prices rose after a decline in US crude oil inventories.
That is after it fell to around the lowest in a fortnight, amid US President Joe Biden's plans to sell 15 million barrels of oil from the nation's emergency reserves.
Mr Biden wants to reduce gasoline prices ahead of midterm Congressional elections next month.
He said he would refill the reserves when oil prices fall to around $US70 a barrel.
The move comes after major oil exporters OPEC+ agreed to cut production to drive up prices.
Brent crude oil rose 2.3 per cent, to $US92.15 a barrel.
Spot gold dropped 1.4 per cent, to $US1628.99 an ounce, on the higher greenback, and the UK inflation news.
ABC/Reuters
