The effects of Wall Street's record 617 point loss last week saw the ASX All Ordinaries plummet 5.68 per cent yesterday -- closing under 3000 points for the first time since November last year.
The ASX All Ords lost 176 points, while its top 200 counterpart, the ASX200, fell 168 points, or 5.4 per cent. In total the value of stocks on the ASX was reduced by more than $30 billion for the day.
Illustrating the across-the-board nature of the stock meltdown, the high-flying ASX20 fell even further: a massive 5.9 per cent, or 113.5 points.
Dragging the top 20 down was News Corp which fell $2.85 to $17.75, and Kerry Packer's PBL, down $1.33 to $11.67. News Corp shares were not helped by news released on the weekend that its chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Similarly, the tech-heavy miscellaneous industrials fell a whopping 16.05 per cent, or 402 points, to 2103.1 points.
Not surprisingly, the telecommunications index also fell, led by AAPT, down $1.67 to $7.13, and Cable & Wireless Optus, down 62 cents to $5.36. Telstra dropped 37 cents to $7.12.
The big losers in the technology sector were: ecommerce security company SecureNet, down $3.20 to $5.65; Solution 6, down $2.06 to $5.64; Sausage Software, down $1.37 to $3.06; Melbourne IT, down $2.16 to $7.99; and Open Telecommunications, which continued to suffer, falling another $2.80 to $6.10. Last week alone, Open Telecommunications fell 29.7 per cent.