Australian stocks mark biggest one-day tumble

Australian stocks tumbled by 9.7 percent, marking the worst decline in a single day in the benchmark ASX200 index.

The benchmark index closed down 9.7 percent at 5,120 points today, falling by more than 2 percent in the final minutes of trade.

"It is new territory, unfortunately it is a record you don't want," market analyst Evan Lucas from InvestSmart told The Business, ABC News reports.

The ASX 200 is now down by 30 percent from its peak, posted just weeks ago on February 20.

The broader All Ordinaries ended 9.5 percent down, its largest one-day fall since the 1987 stock market crash, losing A$165 billion in value.