ASX slumps 1.6 per cent after Wall Street plunges; jobless rate hits 1974 low

ASX ends four-day winning with retailers pummeled. Jobless rate hits 1974 low, Aristocrat jumps on buyback, Wesfarmers falls to 19-month low and Nufarm down amid profit rise.

Recession fears have hit the US sharemarket which may also weigh on local trading. Picture: Nikki Short / NCA NewsWire

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Thursday, May 19. The Australian share market ends a four-day winning streak to close lower as consumer stocks plunge. It comes as Australia's unemployment rate falls to 3.9 per cent and Woodside investors back merger with BHP's petroleum division.

 

The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 1.7 per cent or 118.16 points lower to 7064.50, shrugging off local data that showed a dip in unemployment to the lowest level since 1974.

In the US, the  Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 3.6 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 4 per cent and the Nasdaq tumbled 4.7 per cent.

Shares of US retail giant Target plunged 25 per cent in New York, its biggest drop since the 1987 market crash. That's after the retail giant warned it would take a bigger margin hit from rising costs. 

The negative market sentiment also hit bitcoin, sending the cryptocurrency down 4.5 per cent to $US28,986.03.

Among commodities, global oil prices fell after data showed US refiners had ramped up output. US Nymex crude lost 2.5 per cent to $US109.59. Iron ore slid 1.3 per cent to $US129.92 a tonne and the Aussie dollar was trading near its session lows at the US close at around US69.75c.