Live: ASX ends in red, down 1.5pc at 10-week low; energy, mining and tech stocks smashed

The sharemarket closed 1.5 per cent lower, hit by big falls across energy, mining and tech amid mounting concerns about the global economic outlook. Credit Suisse gets $US53.7bn from Swiss central bank to shore up liquidity. Jobless rate falls to 3.5 per cent.

Fears of a global banking crisis are making equity investors nervous. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Thursday, March 16. Energy, mining and tech stocks led big falls on the Australian sharemarket, which finished 1.5 per cent lower. Credit Suisse secures $US53.7bn ($81bn) from Swiss central bank to shore up liquidity. Jobless rate falls to 3.5 per cent.

The ASX 200 index dropped 1.5 per cent to 6965.5 points, with most sectors finishing in the red, led by energy, materials and tech.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed 0.7 per cent lower, the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index reversed earlier losses to be 0.1 per cent higher and the Dow Jones fell 0.9 per cent.

Gains made in the previous day’s session when the US government took over two troubled banks were wiped out as Credit Suisse came under attack in Europe, plummeting 24.2 per cent. London’s FTSE 100 fell by 3.8 per cent – its biggest loss in one day since the war in Ukraine erupted in late February 2022.

US 10-year bond yields fell to 3.49 per cent as prices rose due to higher demand. Two-year bond yields are lower at 3.89 per cent. 

Oil prices also declined with the global benchmark Brent crude off 3.9 per cent to $US74.46 per barrel and the US Nymex 4 per cent weaker at $US68.30 per barrel.

The Aussie dollar is lower around $US66.18.