ASX 200 falls sharply: 10 shares you should have been watching

Local shares fell sharply today, although they did manage to recover some of their morning losses in the afternoon.

Here's a quick recap:

• S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) down 0.7% to 5385 points
• ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) down 0.7% to 5484 points
• AUD/USD at US 76.81 cents
• Iron Ore at US$58.46 a tonne, according to the Metal Bulletin
• Gold at US$1,346.38 an ounce
• Brent oil at US$48.67 a barrel

A number of big-name shares recorded heavy losses during Thursday's session.

Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) dropped 5.3%. Aconex Limited (ASX: ACX) fell 3.9%. Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) lost 1.6%.

And Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) shed 3.5%, although that was mostly due to the shares going ex-dividend.

BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) also fell 1.2%, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) dropping 1.1%.

The gold miners endured something of a sell-off today as well following yesterday's rally. St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) dropped 6.5% and Independence Group NL (ASX: IGO) lost 6.1%.

Sigma Pharmaceutical Limited (ASX: SIP), on the other hand, soared 11.3%. AWE Limited (ASX: AWE) gained 1.5% as well.

Here are Thursday's top stories:

1. Better buy: Telstra Corporation Ltd or TPG Telecom Ltd?
2. Which are the fastest growing ASX software stocks? (Part I)
3. Which are the fastest growing ASX software stocks? (Part II)
4. Should you participate in Metcash Limited's share purchase plan?
5. 5 unsexy shares that won't let you down
6. Shock News: Has Aldi's growth come to an end?