The local market took its lead from the US and opened lower and continued to slide as the morning trading session progressed.
As midday approached the S&P/ASX 200 was almost 1 per cent lower.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 80 points.
Tech and Property were the key drag on the local index with both sectors trading down close to 3 per cent. Resources, Gold and Energy were again bucking the trend to remain in the green.
In company news Westgold was trading 13 per cent lower after it revised down its FY 2024 production guidance to 220,000 to 230,000 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of $2100 to $2300.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Energy, up 0.88 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Information Technology, down 3.19 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Computershare (ASX:CPU), trading 1.49 per cent higher at $26.62. It is followed by shares in QBE Insurance Group (ASX:QBE) and Woodside Energy Group (ASX:WDS).
The worst-performing large cap is WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC), trading 4.91 per cent lower at $90.31. It is followed by shares in Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ) and REA Group (ASX:REA).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2302.60 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.2 per cent lower at US$102.25 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 1.17 per cent rise.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.15 US cents.