ASX news: $54 billion wiped from share market in minutes

The ASX has shed $50 billion within a half-hour window today, nosediving almost 3 per cent by midday and erasing all gains seen in the past month.

The Australian share market has tumbled today, losing $50 billion in a small 30-minute window, taking an almost 3 per cent dive by lunchtime.

At 1pm today, the ASX 200 dropped 167 points to 5946, taking a 2.7 per cent dive, wiping out all its gains from the past month.

The sudden drop is on the back of Wall Street floundering overnight with its worst one-day fall in three months.

The fall was off the back of a slump yesterday on Wall St. Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP

The Dow Jones plummeted 800 points in its biggest sell-off since June, hammered by a sell-off in tech stocks.

The technology and retail sectors have taken the biggest hit on the ASX 200. Online retailer Kogan.com has fallen more than 10 per cent, while WiseTech Global and Appen dropped around 7 per cent. Afterpay and Myer have taken a 5 per cent hit. The big banks and miners are also down.