(Sharecast News) - Stocks on the FTSE 350 slumped on Tuesday led by declines in cyclical areas of the market such as Autos and Banks.

Yet perhaps most conspicuous was the renewed decline in crude oil futures, even as US 2 and 10-year Treasury bond yields hit fresh 52-week lows.

"The big question is whether these price declines should be read as a sign of doom and gloom. One thing's for sure: the Fed might want to take a closer look at the collapse in oil prices," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

"It's a clear sign of disinflationary pressures building in the system. Yes, oil can be unpredictable, but that volatility could be the perfect justification for a 50-basis-point cut. With 10-year breakevens now at 2.03%-the lowest since January 2021-the case for a more aggressive easing cycle is hard to ignore."

Against that backdrop, it was precious metals that paced gains, perhaps not surprisingly.

Perhaps just as unsurprising, it was in large part as a result of AngloGold Ashanti stepping in with a $2.5bn bid for Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin.

Going the other way, Big Oil continued to slide lower with Brent futures yielding the $70 barrel level.

But it was Autos that was at the bottom of the pile, dragged down by the wider European sector, which paced losses on the Continent during the session.

Triggering the renewed slump was German luxury carmaker BMW's cut to its 2024 outlook.

Top performing sectors so far today

Precious Metals and Mining 10,337.25 +6.67%

Leisure Goods 26,478.21 +2.61%

Real Estate Investment Trusts 2,433.47 +1.53%

Real Estate Investment & Services 2,567.49 +1.08%

Household Goods & Home Construction 14,596.92 +0.97%

Bottom performing sectors so far today

Automobiles & Parts 1,014.90 -2.94%

Banks 4,187.56 -1.93%

Oil, Gas and Coal 8,011.68 -1.73%

Chemicals 7,897.24 -1.69%

Telecommunications Service Providers 2,099.33 -1.49%