Australian Market Tumbles More Than 6%

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading sharply lower tumbling on Monday, adding to the sharp losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is tumbling more than 6 percent to below the 7,200.00 level, with strong losses across all sectors led by mining and energy stocks as the global trade war ignited by the U.S. raises fears of a global recession.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 484.60 points or 6.32 percent to 7,183.20, after hitting a low of 7,177.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 490.20 points or 6.25 percent to 7,357.40. Australian stocks closed sharply lower on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are tumbling more than 8 percent each, while Rio Tinto is plunging more than 5 percent and Mineral Resources is plummeting almost 10 percent. Oil stocks are sharply lower. Woodside Energy is tumbling more than 8 percent, Santos is plummeting almost 11 percent, Beach energy is plunging almost 7 percent and Origin Energy is slipping more than 6 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is slipping more than 7 percent, Xero is losing almost 5 percent, WiseTech Global is declining more than 4 percent, Appen is tumbling almost 9 percent and Zip is sliding more than 14 percent.

Gold miners are lower. Evolution Mining is plummeting more than 10 percent, Gold Road Resources is losing 3.5 percent, Northern Star Resources is slipping almost 7 percent, Resolute Mining is sliding almost 9 percent and Newmont is plunging almost 10 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is tumbling almost 9 percent, ANZ Banking is sliding almost 7 percent, National Australia Bank is plunging more than 7 percent and Westpac is plummeting more than 8 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.601 on Monday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed another substantial move to the downside during trading on Friday extending the nosedive seen over the course of the previous session. With the continued sell-off, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 plunged to their lowest closing levels in eleven months.

The major averages ended the session just off their worst levels of the day. The S&P 500 plummeted 322.44 points or 6.0 percent to 5,074.08, the Nasdaq dove 962.82 points or 5.8 percent to 15,587.79 and the Dow tumbled 2,231.07 points or 5.5 percent to 38,314.86.

The major European markets also showed substantial moves to the downside. While the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 4.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both plunged by 5.0 percent.

Crude oil prices showed another substantial move to the downside on Friday on continuing concerns about the impact a global trade war will have on fuel demand. West Texas Intermediate for May delivery plunged $4.95 or 7.4 percent to $62 a barrel, a three-year low.