Australia: Stocks down 2.58% at the open

[SYDNEY] Australian stocks slumped 2.58 per cent at the open on Tuesday as they followed the lead of Wall Street which endured a brutal session with one of its steepest ever one-day point drops.

At 10.12am (2312 GMT Monday), the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 155.7 points at 5,870.5, falling below the 6,000 point mark, which it breached last November for the first time in almost a decade.

Australia is entering its company reporting season and CMC Markets chief analyst Ric Spooner said this could help soften the blow if the current sell-off extends over coming weeks.

"The upcoming profit-reporting season could help the local market fall less than the US if the current sell-off extends," he said in a note.

AFP