Staff writers

Updated November 11, 2026 — 10:56am , first published 5:21am

The Australian sharemarket has ticked lower in early trade on Wednesday, tracking losses on Wall Street after a report showed US inflation was worse than expected last month, fuelling interest rate concerns.

The S&P/ASX 200 was down 18.9 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 9110.10 at around 10.45am AEDT, with losses in mining stocks outweighing modest gains across most other sectors. The soft trading comes after the ASX jumped 1.1 per cent on Tuesday, buoyed by a plunge in oil prices amid hopes for an end to the Iran war. The Australian dollar was flat at US68.66¢.

Higher-than-expected inflation could push the Federal Reserve to hike its main interest rate at its next meeting in December and beyond. AP

Materials stocks were the biggest drag on the local market, with iron ore and copper giants BHP and Rio Tinto down 1.3 per cent and 1.9 per cent.…