Yahoo Finance ASX200 finishes down 2.45 per cent
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 (^AXJO) has finished the day in the red, down 2.16 per cent, or 5,237.30 points at the close.
The broader All Ordinaries index (^AORD) has also slid 2.51 per cent to 5,278.60 per cent.
It came amid fresh data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing the decline in wages and employment. Young workers have been hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, with workers younger than 20 seeing their wages fall by 12.7 per cent between 14 March and 4 April.
The national average was a decline of 6.7 per cent.
What happened at midday?
The ASX200 careened through morning trade, and entered the afternoon in the red.
The ASX200 was down 1.10 per cent at 12:15pm AEST to 5,293.70 points.
The All Ordinaries also slid 1.17 per cent to 5,351.50 points.
What happened this morning?
The ASX200 fell at the open on Tuesday as Virgin Australia (VAH.AX) enters administration and oil prices tip into the negative for the first time in history.
The ASX200 was down 0.77 per cent to 5,312.00 points at 10:22am AEST.
The All Ordinaries also fell 0.80 per cent to 5,317.40 points.
The ASX200 finished Monday 2.45 per cent lower.
This morning’s dip came as US crude oil futures fell below US$0 for the first time ever, meaning barrels are worth negative US$37.63 as of the close of trade.
Physical demand for oil has evaporated as millions of people around the world bunker down to ride out the coronavirus, meaning suppliers have found themselves with a massive glut on their hands. The oil price fall pushed Wall Street lower overnight.
Virgin Australia also announced it is entering voluntary administration this morning after it failed to secure a financial lifeline from the Australian government.
What happened overnight?
Over on Wall Street, the S&P energy index tumbled 3.7 per cent after the front-month May US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract actually turned negative, with sellers offering $US37.63 a barrel to any traders willing to take it.
Helped by a $US2 trillion US government package to stimulate the economy, and by bets that the virus was nearing a peak in the United States, the S&P 500 has climbed over 25 per cent from its March low.
The benchmark index remains almost 17 per cent below its February record high, and analysts have warned of a deep economic slump from the halt in business activity and millions of layoffs.
US jobless claims touched 22 million in the four weeks to April 11, and analysts have forecast as many as five million more in the latest week.
A reading of an April US manufacturing survey, also due on Thursday, is expected to slide to recession-era levels.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.44 per cent to end at 23,650.44 points, while the S&P 500 lost 1.79 per cent to 2823.16.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.03 per cent to 8560.73.
With AAP.
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