Market Update: The S&P/ASX200 has a relatively quiet morning until China released a surprisingly weak Purchasing Managers' Index of 49.6 that trigged the...

Market Update: The S&P/ASX200 has a relatively quiet morning until China released a surprisingly weak Purchasing Managers' Index of 49.6 that trigged the market to drop 1.1% to 5,260. It was a broad base decline with all major banks falling between 0.8% to 1.6%. The miners were also in the red with BHP slipping 1.5% and RIO losing 1.1%. Gold stocks continued to lose steam after spot gold retreated for a 3rd consecutive day. Resolute Mining fell 7.4%. IAG lost 3.7% after it revised its earnings forecast lower for FY14. The AUD dropped half a US cent after the Chinese data released and is currently at US$0.8794. The SPI was down 1.3% at 5,213 points on the Sydney Futures Exchange.