Wall Street plunges again, ASX down 2%

The financial, mining, energy, health, IT and telecom sectors recorded a loss of 2% while the early morning was red, with the S & P / ASX200 benchmark index continuing its fall to 125.5 points, 2.15%, at 5703.7 to 1200 AEDT. .

All Ordinary is down 127.4 points, or 2.15%, to 5799.1, while the Australian dollar has stabilized and buys 70.70 cents US to 70.99 Wednesday.

Thursday's tumble follows a fall in overnight US stocks, which confirmed a correction for the Nasdaq and erased the gains of the Dow and S & P 500 for the year, in a context of disappointing earnings, of fears related to economic growth, quarrels between Italy and Saudi Journalist.

The dive also continues the worst month of ASX for over three years: the market has now lost more than 8% in October – and 10% since the month of August – getting closer to its lowest level since 18 months in February 2016, for the fifth time in a row. losses.

Energy stocks experienced their worst month since September 2015 and lost another 2.37% Thursday due to stable oil prices.

Resources fell again, with the BHP and Rio Tinto giants losing 2.99% and 2.97%, respectively, and Fortescue Metals losing 4.4% after a drop in iron ore shipments in the first quarter.

Only a few of the gold miners, driven by a rise in the price of gold, saw a little green early.

The four big banks recorded declines of between 1.76% and 2.03% – losses caused by NAB – while the Macquarie group fell by 3.03%.

At the same time, AMP, the undervalued wealth manager, will sell its Australian and New Zealand wealth protection business and its mature businesses to the London-based Resolution Life Insurance Company for $ 3.3 billion.

Its share price fell 8.91% to $ 3,015 after the news. At the same time, Qantas said that a jump in forward bookings and rising air fares had offset rising fuel costs, with a 6.3% increase in the figure. business in the first quarter, which stood at $ 4.41 billion.

However, the airline's share price fell 3.65% to $ 5.415.

TECHNICAL COMPANIES LEAD ANOTHER STEEP SALE

– AP

On Wednesday, another torrent of sales took hold of Wall Street, dropping more than 600 points in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and extending the S & P 500 benchmark defeat to a sixth day.

The high-tech Nasdaq composite has suffered the bulk of the sale, leaving it more than 10% below its peak in August, what Wall Street calls a "correction." The Dow and the S & P 500 erased their earnings for the year.

Technology stocks and media and communications companies accounted for a large portion of sales. AT & T dropped after reporting a low number of subscribers, and the chip maker, Texas Instruments, fell sharply after reporting a drop in demand.

Banks, health care companies and industrial companies also suffered heavy losses, offsetting the gains of utility companies and other high-dividend stocks.

Quarterly results and disappointing prospects continued to weigh on the market, fueling investor concerns about future corporate earnings growth. Bond prices continued to rise, leading to lower yields as traders sought safe haven investments.

"Investors are on their guard," said Erik Davidson, Investment Director at Wells Fargo Private Bank.

"There has been a shift in investor confidence, starting with the volatility of last week. Feelings and perspectives seem to become more negative, or at least, less rosy. "

The S & P 500 lost 84.59 points, or 3.1%, against 2,656.10. The index is now down about 9.4% from the peak of September 20th.

The Dow fell 608.01 points, or 2.4%, to 24,583.42. Nasdaq, strong in technology, slipped 329.14 points, or 4.4%, to 7,108.40. This is the largest decline recorded by Nasdaq since August 2011.

The Russell 2000 index of shares of small companies sold 578.9 points, or 3.8%, to 1,468.70.

Bond prices rose, bringing the 10-year Treasury note yield to 3.11%, down from 3.16% on Tuesday.