The Australian share market has closed more than two per cent lower as investors fret over US rate hikes and Chinese volatility.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 2.4 per cent after a bout of sustained, across-the-board selling following two days of gains.
“It’s difficult to attribute today’s reversal to any particular news or change in circumstances. There just seems to be significant amount of uncertainty about the Federal Reserve rate decision and China,” said CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner.
The local market got off to a weak start after a sharp decline on Wall Street overnight.
The gloom continued after Asian markets also opened lower.
Tokyo shares dropped 2.5 per cent, while shares also traded lower in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Australia’s local jobless rate eased to 6.2 per cent in August data, released on Thursday, meeting expectations, but the market seemed to ignore the news.
On Thursday, banking and energy stocks led the march downwards, giving up gains from earlier this week.
Commonwealth Bank fell $1.59 to $75.13, Westpac lost $1.05 to $30.76, National Australia Bank slipped $1.09 to $30.18, and ANZ declined 89 cents to $27.65.
Energy stocks, which have been in focus after Woodside’s bid for Oil Search, were also hit hard.
Woodside was down 77 cents to $29.13, Oil Search slipped 28 cents to $7.57, while Santos lost 24 cents to $4.43.
Supermarket giant Woolworths lost 56 cents to $24.76, while rival Wesfarmers closed 73 cents lower at $39.42.
“The decline in frontline stocks is probably indicative of overall index selling and people adjusting their exposure to the market,” Mr Spooner said.
KEY FACTS
* At close on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 126.1 points, or 2.42 per cent, at 5,095 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 120 points, or 2.29 per cent, at 5,117 points.
* September share price index futures contract was down 137 points at 5,078 points, with 45,846 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 1.83 billion securities worth $6.00 billion.
