Australian equities took a sharp hit Thursday morning in Sydney, opening down 2.0 percent after Wall Street posted heavy losses overnight driven by fears of further US interest rate increases.
The SP/ASX 200 benchmark index dropped to an intraday low of 5,096 points before stabilizing around 5,124.7, off 1.8 percent, by 1:00 pm local time. The broader All Ordinaries index tracked a similar decline, losing roughly 1.8 percent to trade near 5,080.8.
Mining stocks suffered the steepest losses, weighed down by falling base metal prices. Analysts noted that some calm had returned after the initial open, with market watchers suggesting certain stocks had become oversold and a partial afternoon recovery was possible.
The selloff traced back to a punishing session on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 214.28 points, closing at 11,205.61, its largest single-day decline in three years. The SP 500 fell 21.76 points to 1,270.32. Investors reacted to consumer price data that came in worse than expected, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve would continue raising interest rates.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in May 2006, in its own words.