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Sharp falls continue on share market

Posted November 21, 2008 13:11:00
Updated November 21, 2008 14:53:00

Stocks slide: The big miners and the big banks are all lower. (ABC News)

Steep losses are continuing on the Australian share market after a big dive on Wall Street overnight.

Shortly before 3:00pm AEDT, the All Ordinaries Index had fallen 1.6 per cent this hour, to 3,279 points, and the ASX200 lost 50 points, to 3,303.

The banks and the miners remain lower, Woodside Petroleum shed 6.7 per cent, while Telstra was steady after the company's annual general meeting.

The Australian dollar was worth 61.54 US cents.

Meanwhile, shares on Asian stock markets also opened sharply down after the plunge in US markets.

Tokyo's main Nikkei index fell more than 3 per cent, while the South Korean stock market was 2 per cent down.

Earlier, the Dow Jones index in New York ended the day more than 5 per cent lower.

At the same time the price of US and Brent crude oil dipped belong $US50 a barrel.

Tags: economic-trends, finance-markets, stockmarket, futures-markets, currency-markets, australia