Major stock markets outside the United States ended on Thursday.
The S&P/ASX 200 index gave up 114.9 points to end at 4,607.3, its lowest close since December 2005. The market has fallen 6 percent so far this week.
The All-share index closed at 24,092.74 points, down 230.45 or 0.95 percent. The All Gold index closed at 1,852.07 points, up 98.88 or 5.64 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 17,722.42 points, down 482.78 or 2.65 percent.