End-of-day summary:
A bruising holiday-affected session saw the Australian share market endure its biggest decline of the year as commodity prices fell in China.
With market participation diminished while several parts of the country enjoyed a long weekend, the ASX 200 plunged 142.8 points or 1.82%. Today's loss eclipsed a 104.6-point tumble on January 3 that was previously this year's heaviest fall.
Market commentators pointed to profit-taking after stocks finished last week at a record high. Resource stocks led the sell-off as iron ore, crude oil and base metals started the week lower.
Chinese ore prices dropped 3.8% this afternoon on the Dalian Commodity Exchange. Brent crude declined nearly 0.7% in Europe. Chinese copper, nickel, aluminium and steel prices also fell, according to CN Wire.
The weakness was not isolated to Australia. Japan's Nikkei 225 index dived almost 3% this afternoon during its worst session in a year.
On Friday, the S&P 500 shed 0.65% as this year's explosive rally in AI stocks hit a wall. S&P 500 futures reacted to Asian weakness by easing 0.22%.
