Australian shares fell more than 3.5% on Wednesday and slipped back into bear territory as doubts set in whether expected stimulus measures would be adequate enough to soften the economic blows from the coronavirus outbreak.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 213.7 points, or 3.6%, to 5,725.90, its lowest close since January 2019, after a 3.1% bounce in the previous session.
With Wednesday's drop, the index has declined 20.4% since scaling a record high on Feb. 20, sliding into bear market territory which signals a drawn-out period of negative investor sentiment.
Heavyweight financials fell 5.3%, with all the "Big Four" banks in the red.
Top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia gave up all of its gains from the previous session to end 6.6% lower.
Second-largest bank Westpac Banking Corp shed 5.3%, while National Australia Bank was down 6.3%.
The mining sub-index, which holds significant weightage on the benchmark, was the second-biggest decliner. Global miners BHP Group and Rio Tinto lost 2.5% and 1.1%, respectively.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index erased early gains to finish 0.2% lower at 10,873.60, its lowest close since Nov. 18, 2019.
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