SYDNEY, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The Australian stock market recorded its worst single day in 11 months on Monday, falling by 2.9 percent as oil prices surged due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The S&P/ASX 200, which tracks the performance of the top 200 companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), closed at 8,599 points on Monday, down 2.9 percent as a spike in crude oil prices triggered a sharp sell-off.
The benchmark index fell by 2.8 percent in the first 10 minutes of trading, and hit a low of 8,457.2 points around 12:50 p.m. before recovering some of the losses by the close of trading at 4 p.m.
The Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported that the 90 billion Australian dollar (about 70.1 billion U.S. dollar) wipeout was the biggest in a single day since U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs in April 2025.
Market analyst Tony Sycamore from IG Australia told the AFR that the fall stemmed from markets seeing "no obvious off-ramp in the escalating Middle East conflict."
"The risk of more lasting economic damage continues to build by the day," he said.
Monday's fall followed a 3.8-percent drop for the benchmark index over the week to Friday.
As of the close of trading on Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 has fallen by 1.3 percent so far in 2026. ■
