The Australian sharemarket extended its recent decline on Tuesday, hitting fresh seven-month lows as risk sentiment soured, following a sharp sell-off in technology stocks and heavy losses on Wall Street overnight.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 72.2 points, or 0.9%, to 7,890.1, with eight of the 11 sectors registering losses.
Technology stocks bore the brunt of the decline, tumbling 3.8% overall.
Block dropped 6.3%, Appen slid 3.2%, Xero lost 5.1%, Computershare declined 3.6%, and Wisetech fell 1.9%.
The sell-off followed a rout in U.S. tech companies, where Tesla plunged 15.4% and Nvidia shed 5.1%.
Healthcare stocks also suffered, falling 1.9%, with Pro Medicus tumbling 10.5%, CSL dropping 1.4%, and Sonic Healthcare declining 3%.
Qantas slumped 8.9% as the company traded ex-dividend. The airline also faced additional pressure after U.S.-listed Delta Air Lines slashed its first-quarter earnings outlook due to weaker domestic travel demand.
On the bond markets, yields edged lower, with the 10-year and 2-year government bond rates falling 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively, to 4.381% and 3.747%.
