SYDNEY: The Australian sharemarket has posted its biggest loss in nearly five months as the benchmark index falls further away from the elusive 6000 level.
Fresh doubt about the direction of the official interest rate, a soaring Australian dollar, and worries about the nation’s credit rating drove a heavy sell off in financial stocks.
At the 4.15pm (AEST) official market close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 109.9 points, or 1.85 per cent, lower at 5838.6, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 103.3 points, or 1.74 per cent, at 5818.2.
Today’s close is the biggest one-day loss since the start of December, when the bourse lost more than 2 per cent amid an oil price crash.
The sharemarket was hit after the Australian dollar jumped past US80c in overnight trade on the back of soft US data and an iron ore price rally.
