European stocks marched lower Wednesday, as the energy sector was dragged down by sliding oil prices and as the departure of a key ally of President Emmanuel Macron hit French equities. They slid into a bear market on Tuesday driven down by continuing worries about a global oil glut as output cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries were offset by production rises elsewhere. An recent increase in supply by Libya was a factor.

The S&P 500 and the Dow closed lower for a second session in a row Wednesday as weak oil prices weighed on the market, but the Nasdaq bucked the trend to rise as large-cap tech stocks gained. Oil prices extended losses to fall deeper into bear territory with August West Texas Intermediate crude down 2.5% to $42.42 a barrel.

Australian shares, with a lift from rebounding metals, outperformed other Asian-Pacific equities after U.S. stocks were little changed. The overnight metals rebound led to bargain hunting in Australian stocks, said Tim Kelleher, head of institutional FX sales in New Zealand for Commonwealth Bank of Australia. He also noted that although oil slid again overnight, equities rose to start Thursday, while Wednesday's declines in Asia had been attributed to a fall in oil.