Sydney - Australian stocks tumbled 5.5 per cent Wednesday in the wake of a 5-per-cent fall on Wall Street and in tandem with Japan and other Asian markets.

The ASX 200 dropped 230 points, or 4.9 per cent, to 4,388. All the gains that followed from the central bank's cut of 1 per cent from interest rates were wiped out as investors dumped stocks.

"It's about as bad as it gets in magnitude for one day on the Australian stock exchange," said Macquarie Private Wealth analyst David Halliday. "There's not a buyer in sight and selling is the order of the day."

Market leader BHP Billiton Ltd was down 6.5 per cent and its fellow miner and takeover target Rio Tinto Ltd was off 7.2 per cent. The banks were hit hard with National Australia Bank losing 6.5 per cent and Westpac giving up 7.2 per cent.

The Australian dollar fell again, dropping 2 US cents to 70 US cents as the flight out of commodities-linked currencies continues. The Aussie dollar was sold off along with the South African rand, the Canadian dollar and the New Zealand dollar. (dpa)