The Australian share market is trading in a sea of red, down 1.8 per cent, mimicking losses on Wall Street overnight.
Most blue chip stocks, including the big four banks, BHP Billiton, Origin Energy, AMP, and Macquarie Group are down as falling energy prices continue to weigh on the minds of investors.
The falls came after the S&P500 index sank 2.5 per cent overnight in New York to close below 1,900 points for the first time since September amid worries about falling energy prices and potentially disappointing US corporate earnings.
Investors are keenly awaiting the start of the US earnings season, which kicks off with the big banks, to get a clearer picture of the health of world’s biggest economy.
Locally, Wesfarmers was more than two per cent lower after the retail giant made a move to buy UK home improvement and gardening chain Homebase for STG340 ($A705.61) million.
KEY FACTS:
* At 1210 AEDT on Thursday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 91.6 points, or 1.8 per cent, at 4895.8 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 91 points, or 1.8 per cent, at 4,950.6 points.
* The March share price index futures contract was down 79 points at 4854 points, with 22,353 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 644 million securities traded worth $1.40 billion.
