At 11:35am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.83 per cent lower at 7,923.10.
The Australian share market experienced a sharp downturn, primarily driven by a significant sell-off in the mining sector. Mining giants, including BHP and Fortescue Metals, suffered substantial losses, with the latter plunging by 8.6% following a massive block trade. This decline was compounded by falling commodity prices, notably Brent crude dipping below US$80 a barrel. The broader market was also impacted, with all sectors trading in negative territory. Investor sentiment was cautious due to impending policy decisions from major central banks and the release of crucial earnings reports from tech titans such as Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Amazon.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 70 points.
Best and worst performers
All sectors are in the red. The sector with the fewest losses is Consumer Discretionary, down 0.34 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Materials, down 1.84 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is ResMed (ASX:RMD), trading 3.07 per cent higher at $31.54. It is followed by shares in Medibank Private (ASX:MPL) and The a2 Milk Company (ASX:A2M).
The worst-performing large cap is Fortescue (ASX:FMG), trading 8.85 per cent lower at $18.55. It is followed by shares in WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) and Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2424.40 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.5 per cent lower at US$101.45 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 1.1 per cent fall.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.42 US cents.