Market Update: The ASX 200 dropped 1.8% to 5,097 points on the back of a steep selloff in the US and European equity markets overnight, due to poor US economic...

Market Update: The ASX 200 dropped 1.8% to 5,097 points on the back of a steep selloff in the US and European equity markets overnight, due to poor US economic data. Cyclicals led the broad based fall with BHP falling 2.3% and RIO down 1.7%. Gold stocks were the only bright spot as spot gold rose 1.0% last night. Evolution Mining jumped 6.0% while Newcrest climbed 4.6%. All the major banks were lower between 1.4% to 2.4%. The AUD shot up USD 0.01 after the RBA left cash rate unchanged at 2.5% signalling a shift to a more neutral monetary stance. It is currently trading flat at USD 0.8869. The SPI was down 1.9% at 5,045 points on the Sydney Futures Exchange.