SYDNEY, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Australian shares are likely to open sharply lower on Tuesday as a selloff in global equities and commodities worsened amid growing anxiety about a slowdown in China's economy.
The Shanghai Composite plunged 9 percent on Monday, while Wall Street tumbled almost 4 percent before recovering to close down 2.5 percent in a volatile session that confirmed the S&P500 was formally in a correction.
Australian share price index futures YAPcm1 recorded a 181.0 point fall, a 231.0-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX200 index .AXJO close on Monday, pointing to another bad start.
The benchmark tumbled 4.6 percent, or 213.3 points to 5001.3 on Monday, suffering its biggest percentage drop in 6-1/2 years.
A fall below 5000 points would take the ASX200 to its lowest level since July 2013. The market is also watching company earnings including BHP Billiton (LONDON:BLT)'s BHP.AX full year results, which are due after the market closes.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index fell 134.4 points or 2.4 percent to 5,472.9 in early trade.