PERTH: The Australian sharemarket is reeling amid a global stock sell-off prompted by bad news out of China, while soft local economic growth figures added to the downbeat mood.
At 12.05pm (AEST), the benchmark S & P/ASX200 index was down 56.9 points, or 1.12 per cent, to 5039.5, while the broader All Ordinaries lost 57.7 points, or 1.13 per cent, to 5059.4.
Earlier, the benchmark index dived to a fresh six-day low of 5020.5 points, down 1.5 per cent, after Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed the economy grew at half the pace economists expected during the June quarter.
GDP expanded 0.2 per cent during the three months to June, against forecasts of 0.4 per cent, the official data showed. The annual rate of 2 per cent through the twelve months to June is far below the long term trend of 3.25 per cent.
The soft data pushed the Australian dollar to a fresh six-year low, with the currency plunging to as low as US69.91c shortly after the release.
