5 things you need to know about the Australian sharemarket today

Welcome to Wednesday. Here are the five things I'm looking at today on the Australian sharemarket.

1. The S&P/ ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has opened 0.8% lower, following the lead set by Wall Street. The big banks, insurers and BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) are all down.
   Overnight, The Dow Jones lost 0.7%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.6% and the tech-heavy NASDAQ 0.4%. It was the third consecutive down day for the S&P 500, as investors worry over signs of slowing global growth.

   A decent pull back may be just what we need. I've got my eye on a number of stocks that are getting cheaper by the day. Remember, Foolish investors want to buy low, so cheaper prices are a great opportunity.Related: The Wisdom of Warren Buffett – and 2 ASX stocks he could love

2. Chemicals group Nufarm Limited (ASX: NUF) has gone for another gallop this morning, adding another 5%, after rising 12% yesterday. The company released its full year results on Tuesday, with underlying net profit up 4%, as revenues climbed 15%.Nufarm also says it expects to see underlying earnings growth and a stronger balance sheet this financial year. But with the shares trading on a trailing P/E ratio of 15.2 times and a paltry un-franked dividend yield, the company doesn't appear all that attractive.
3. Nickel explorer Sirius Resources N.L. (ASX: SIR) has dropped 8% after releasing an exploration update earlier today. It seems investors weren't happy that drill results appear to show lower grade deposits compared to the massive high grade deposits the company has already found.
4. Tweet of the Day.
   

   TPG Telecom set to take on Foxtel and FetchTV with its own premium television service https://t.co/9gk6s3Udrc

   Financial Review (@FinancialReview) September 23, 2014

   
   Another Video on Demand (VoD) service – this time it's TPG Telecom Limited (ASX: TPM) looking to take on Foxtel and FetchTV.

5. Stock of the Day – brought to you by Ryan Newman – Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA). Want to know why CBA shares are sinking? Ryan outlines three of the major reasons in this article.