The Australian sharemarket has taken its second-biggest loss of the year as worries around technology valuations, inflation and global economic factors wore at investor confidence.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 167.3 points on Tuesday, down 1.94 per cent, to 8,469.1, as the broader All Ordinaries dropped 177.4 points, or 1.99 per cent, to 8,738.3.
Sweeping sell-offs dragged the market to its lowest level since June as minutes from the Reserve Bank's latest board meeting hinted only a major turnaround in inflation could leave the door open to more interest rate cuts.
All 11 local sectors traded lower, with technology and materials leading the losses, slipping 6.1 per cent and three per cent respectively.
Uncertainty around the return of US economic data after the government shutdown, jitters in Japan's bond markets and de-risking ahead of key US tech company earnings contributed to investor risk aversion.
