At 10:30 (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 101.70 points or 1.86 percent at 5,365.00, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 106.20 points or 1.92 percent at 5,417.10.
"A night of poor data pushed investment markets back toward safety. European and U.S. shares tumbled as investors sought the safety of leading nation's bonds," CMC Markets chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said.
"The hard evidence of economic damage overcame positive sentiment around declining COVID-19 infection rates."
Locally, market heavyweights the banks and miners were the heaviest hit, while consumer discretionaries also slumped.
An exception to the losses was consumer staples which lifted, largely on the back of milk supplier, A2, which has emerged as one of the few beneficiaries of the COVID-19 crisis.
On Wednesday A2's stock price hit an all time high and on Thursday was trending over 2 percent higher still.
According to a quarterly report released earlier in the week, the company's sales figures lifted during the crisis, particularly in the Chinese infant formula market.
In the financial space, Australia's big banks sank with the Commonwealth Bank down (2.32 percent), ANZ down (02.73 percent), Westpac Bank down (3.19 percent) and National Australia Bank down (2.83 percent).
Mining stocks slumped with Rio Tinto down (1.62 percent), BHP down (3.47 percent), Fortescue Metals down (2.37 percent) and goldminer Newcrest down (1.71 percent).
The country's oil and gas producers were mostly lower with Oil Search unchanged (0 percent), Santos down (3.19 percent) and Woodside Petroleum down (1.60 percent).
Australia's largest supermarkets bounced with Coles up (0.25 percent), and Woolworths up (0.47 percent).
Meanwhile telecommunications giant Telstra sank (0.48 percent), the national carrier Qantas rallied (1.13 percent) and biomedical firm CSL lifted (0.15 percent).
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