Australian stocks are falling

David McNew/Getty Images

The local market fell hard with the ASX200 index dropping below the 5400 mark.

A short time ago, the index was at 5,364.20, down 78.63 points or 1.44%.

The big banks were sliding with Westpac dropping 1.1% to $30.55 and the Commonwealth 1.3% to $74.24.

BHP was down 1.1% to $22.92 and Woodside Petroleum had lost almost 2% to $28.33.

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