The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 100.90 points or 1.51 percent to 6,599.30, after hitting a low of 6,594.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 106.30 points or 1.54 percent to 6,815.10. Australian markets ended sharply lower on Wednesday ahead of the holiday on Thursday.
Among major miners, OZ Minerals is gaining more than 1 percent, Rio Tinto is advancing almost 3 percent, while Fortescue Metals and BHP Group are adding almost 2 percent each. Mineral Resources is flat.
Oil stocks are weak. Origin Energy and Woodside Energy are losing more than 1 percent each, while Beach energy is slipping almost 1 percent and Santos is declining more than 2 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is plunging almost 9 percent, Xero is sliding almost 6 percent, WiseTech Global is declining more than 4 percent, Appen is slipping almost 4 percent and Zip are losing more than 6 percent.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are losing almost 2 percent each, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are down more than 1 percent each.
Gold miners are mostly higher. Newcrest Mining is losing almost 1 percent, while Resolute Mining is gaining more than 2 percent. Gold Road Resources and Northern Star Resources are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each. Evolution Mining is flat.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.665 on Friday.
On Wall Street, stocks once again saw late-day fluctuations but ended Thursday's trading mostly lower, adding to the steep losses posted in the previous session. The Dow and the S&P 500 fell to three-month closing lows, while the Nasdaq slid to its lowest closing level in well over two months.
The major averages all closed in negative territory, although the Dow posted a relatively modest loss. While the Dow dipped 107.10 points or 0.4 percent to 30,076.68, the S&P 500 shed 31.94 points or 0.8 percent to 3,757.99 and the Nasdaq tumbled 153.39 points or 1.4 percent to 11,066.81.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.8 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices settled higher on Thursday on concerns about tight supplies amid geopolitical tensions in Russia. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $0.55 or 0.7 percent at $83.49 a barrel.