Yahoo Finance ASX nosedives Thursday as 600,000 Aussies lose jobs
The share market had a shocking Thursday after new unemployment figures illustrated just how much economic pain Australia is currently enduring.
The ASX200 index ended the day down 1.72 per cent, pausing the bleeding at 5,328.70 points. The All Ordinaries tumbled 1.74 per cent at the close of trade, slumping to 5,418.00 points.
All sectors were down in Thursday’s bloodbath.
The markets were spooked early in the day from the US Federal Reserve chair pleading for his government to provide more support.
Then at 11:30am the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed Australia in April lost the largest number of jobs in history.
What happened at lunchtime?
The Australian stock market remained in negative territory at lunchtime, after shocking unemployment numbers were revealed.
The benchmark ASX200 index pulled back some of the sharp early losses to be at 0.96 per cent down at 12:15pm AEST, taking it down to 5,369.90 points.
The All Ordinaries also recovered a small amount of the bleeding in early trade, sitting at 0.98 per cent down at 12:15pm AEST, on 5,459.90 points.
Shortly before then, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed almost 600,000 Australians had lost their jobs in April, in a situation described as “heartbreaking” by federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
The unemployment rate jumped a full percentage point to reach 6.2 per cent.
What happened this morning?
Australian shares were down at the start of trade Thursday morning, following overnight warnings that the US might cop a long, multi-year recession.
The ASX200 index crashed 1.32 per cent in the first 16 minutes of trade, while the All Ordinaries also sank 1.32 per cent.
More bad news is likely to come at 11:30am this morning when Australia's April unemployment figures are revealed.
What happened overnight?
US markets plunged overnight after US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell warned the country would suffer for many years unless fiscal support was forthcoming from the government.
However, his plea may go unanswered with Republicans and Democrats at loggerheads in Congress.
"The biggest implication is that some of the economic activity we've lost may never be recovered," TD Ameritrade manager of trader strategy Shawn Cruz told AAP.
That fear drove the Dow Jones Industrial down 2.17 per cent, S&P500 by 1.75 per cent, and the NASDAQ by 1.55 per cent.
Wall St's negativity sent the SPI200 futures down 1.07 per cent at 8am AEST, forecasting a plunge at the start of trading in the AUstralian markets on Thursday morning.
– with AAP
Follow Yahoo Finance Australia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
