PERTH: The Australian sharemarket continued to struggle at noon, as bank stocks led the bourse down following an international sell-off sparked by the European Central Bank’s less-than-expected increase in monetary easing.
At 12.05pm (AEDT), the benchmark S & P/ASX200 index had slumped 91.4 points, or 1.75 per cent, to 5136.3, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 90.1 points, or 1.71 per cent, at 5186.6.
The ECB overnight took fresh steps to boost too-low inflation, cutting its deposit interest rate further into negative territory and extending its purchases of government bonds (QE) through March 2017.
Stock markets in Europe tumbled as the ECB’s package of stimulus measures fell well short of many investors’ expectations, while the S & P500 on Wall Street suffered its biggest drop since late September.
