The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) crashed 109 points or 2.2% early in today's session with the bourse threatening to fall below the 5000-point mark.
The heavy fall comes after a shocking night for international equity markets. In the United States, the Dow Jones fell 1.4% and the NASDAQ was down 1%, while in Europe the FTSE 100 and EURO STOXX 50 fell 1.9% and 1.8% respectively.
Falling commodity prices have acted as a huge drag on the market's progress today and are severely impacting performances in the resources sector. US crude oil and copper both fell sharply, as did Brent oil, while gold and iron ore prices also traded in the red for the session.
BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) is the biggest casualty with the 'Big Australian's' shares sliding 3.8% to just $19.83 – its lowest level in seven years. Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) have also fallen 2.3% and 6.1% while Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) is down 5.5%.
Amongst the energy producers, Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) has crashed another 7.4%, giving it a loss of nearly 33% since Wednesday, while Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) and Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) lost 3.3% and 3.9% respectively.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) was the worst of the banks, falling 2.4% while its major rivals shed between 1.4% and 2.1%. Meanwhile, Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW), Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) lost 2.3%, 3% and 1.4% respectively.
Indeed, there is absolutely nowhere investors can hide today with all sectors trading in the red. Days like these can be extremely testing on investors' patience and temperament and, while they can open up some great buying opportunities, investors also need to ensure they're prepared for more pain in case conditions do worsen.
