The Australian sharemarket has continued its descent today following another disappointing session for international equity markets overnight.
The Dow Jones and NASDAQ indices fell 0.4% and 0.7% respectively as investors slammed the earnings reports from companies such as Apple, Yahoo, Microsoft and IBM. The local S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) fell 0.5%, compounding yesterday's 1.6% decline.
Australia's largest miners are doing most of the pulling today after commodity prices fell further overnight. Iron ore, which is Australia's most important commodity, fell 0.7% to trade under US$52 a tonne while oil, gold and copper also fell further.
As a result, BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) plunged 2.9%, hitting a new two-week low of $25.52 per share, while fellow iron ore miners Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) crashed 2% and 5.1% respectively.
Meanwhile, South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) tumbled 3.3% and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL), Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX: LNG) retreated 1.3%, 1.7% and 6.9%, respectively.
While falling commodity prices appears to be the primary reason behind today's decline, the uncertainty has also spread to the non-mining sector where each of the nation's big four banks are sitting firmly in the red.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) is doing the most damage, down 1.1%, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) have fallen between 0.5% and 0.7%.
Indeed, the last two days are sure to have dampened the confidence of investors, many of whom are likely to question whether they should really be exposed to the sharemarket at all given its recent volatility. But now is actually a great time to buy undervalued companies with plenty of great opportunities currently on offer.
Of course, that doesn't mean go out and buy just any old stock, but for those who know where to look, there are certainly gains to be made in the long run.
