By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 shed 153.2 points or 2.3% to 6,437.9 after the first hour of Friday’s trade, extending losses for the 6th consecutive session and set to post the greatest weekly decline since March 2020 as investors retreated amid growing fears of a global economic downturn.
ASX 200 Futures were pointing 0.1% higher.
Among stocks, Information Technology was the worst hit, down 4% as Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) tumbled 8.2%, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) fell 2.2%, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) lost 1.3%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) retreated 2.8%, Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) fell 6.1% and Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU) dropped 3.8%.
Real estate stocks shed 2.2% with Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC) down 1.9%, Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) dropping 3.4%, Stockland Corporation Ltd (ASX:SGP) down 0.9% and Mirvac Group (ASX:MGR) falling 1.5%.
Financials lost 2.3% collectively, with Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) down 4.1%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) dropping 1.7%, Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) down 3.3%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) down 3.3% and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) falling 2.1%.
Energy shed 2.3% as Woodside Energy Ltd (ASX:WDS) lost 2.1%, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) fell 3.9%, while Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) and Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX:VEA) dipped 3.8% and 3.9% respectively.
Materials dropped 2.9% with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) down 3.3%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) falling 3.3%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) dipping 4%, Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) shedding 4.8% and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) down 3.3%.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates were at 4.094% while United States 10-Year yields were at 3.257%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 was down 2.1% to 10,425.