Just when you thought the market couldn't go any lower, investors hit the panic button today and sold stocks in earnest. US recession or not, the collective sell-off built momentum all day.
The plummeting market gathered speed after 3pm until closing time, when the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index touched a low of 5,186.80, the lowest close in more than 15 months.
The index lost 393.6 point or 7.05% in a record 12th day straight session of declines.
The All Ordinaries Index .AORD showed no sign of slowing the freefall, closing 408 points or 7.26% down at 5,222.
The Energy and Materials S&P sectors were among the biggest losers, losing 9.4% and 7.15% respectively.
These losses showed through with the big miners – BHP Billiton lost $2.04 to $31.25 and Rio Tinto shed $12.75 to $101.50.
Gold miners were not spared either, despite spot gold briefly hitting an all-time high of US$898.30 in New York on Friday. Newmont Mining lost 32 cents to $5.60, Lihir Gold slipped 42 cents to $3.05 and Newcrest Mining shed $3.30 to $31.80.
Consolidated Media was one of the few that went against the trend, finishing 42 cents or 11% at $4.28.
The major banks were down, Commonwealth Bank losing $1.78 to $49, ANZ falling $1.40 to $24.80, National Australia Bank shedding $2.30 to $32.90 and Westpac slipping $1.27 to $24.50.
Asian markets suffered losses across the board. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was down more than 8% at 4.17PM AEST, and the Japanese Nikkei 225 was down more than 5%.
In Europe, the UK futures index, FTSE 100 fell 5.48% and in New Zealand, the NZ Top 50 closed 39.72 points or 1% down at 3,607.134.
