Worst day on ASX since May 2020, $102bn wiped from bourse

The worst day on the Aussie stock exchange in four years has seen more than $100bn of value evaporate.

Global markets and the ASX have been smacked pillar to post on Monday.

The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 3.7 per cent and $102bn of value: consecutive record highs set last week now seem a distant memory.

Monday was the worst one-day wipe-out since May 2020, during those torrid first few months of the pandemic.

The bleed has been traced to the US, where jobs data on Friday ignited fears of a global recession. During the weekend Goldman Sachs’ recession probability indicator was nudged up from 15 per cent to 25 per cent.

Information technology led the plummet on the ASX on Monday. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

Analysts say Monday’s trading in Australia mimicked a defensive rotation seen in the US, after windfalls across Wall Street, particularly in tech shares, in recent weeks.

It was the ASX tech equities leading the wipe-out on Monday, losing six per cent.

Logistics software firm WiseTech Global tanked nearly nine per cent, falling to $84.26. The company is one of the very few mid to large cap tech companies down across the past 12 months.

There was a flurry of trading on data centre operator NEXTDC, which lost 7.3 per cent to close at $15.67.

The ASX 200 financials sector sunk a shade under five per cent as a whole, with some staggering standouts.

Betashares CRYPTO Innovators dropped more than 21 per cent, limping to $4.00 at the close.

Vaneck Bitcoin followed suit, closing 16.3 per cent down at $16.82.

How the ASX closed on Monday. Picture: Market Index

The iShares MSCI Japan ETF - tied to equities being traded in Tokyo - took a hammering, as the Nikkei fared even worse than the ASX on Monday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell from the sky, losing 12.40 per cent on Monday.

Back in Australia, big players to take a hit included fintech firm Block Inc (-10.5 per cent), LIFE360 (down nine per cent), Alcoa (-7.40 per cent) and jeweller Lovisa (-7.31 per cent).

In the financials, the second worst performing sector on the day, it was a sea of red. Each of the big four banks lost at least 4.4 per cent. That is a sharp U-turn from highs last week after unexpected and positive inflation data. The Reserve Bank meets on Tuesday.

One of the few growers was sleep apnoea machine maker Resmed, gaining 2.9 per cent to close at $32.73.

Only three other ASX200 equities made gains, and seven were flat.

Cochlear Ltd had the largest actual dollar amount wiped from its price. Shares in the medical device company tumbled by more than $11, closing at $327.83 and 3.3 per cent loss.

The global sell-off was sparked by poor US jobs data and concern of a recession.

On Wall Street Friday, Amazon sunk 8.8 per cent after missing revenue forecasts and issuing weak projections. Intel tanked 26 per cent on poor quarterly results.

The troublesome US jobs data showed non-farm payrolls increasing by 114,000 in July, short of the forecast 175,000, while the unemployment rate rose from 4.1 per cent to 4.3 per cent.