Shares in Incitec Pivot are down 7.5 per cent this morning to $3.91, the lowest price in two weeks. Last week it was trading at a 12-month high of $4.24. The company this morning announced a 35 per cent decline in post-tax profit for the year ending September 30 to $208 million. This was due to a $140 million write down of the goodwill value of Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific earlier this year.

Earnings before interest and tax are up 11 per cent to $556.7 million, compared to $501.2 million the previous year. And earnings per share are up to 20.9 cents, compared to 18.9 cents the previous year. Incitec Pivot will pay a final dividend of 6.2 cents per share, 20 per cent franked, leading to total dividends of 10.7 cents for the year. At the current price that gives the stock a yield of 2.7 per cent.

The Australian stock market is having a tough day, with an unusually large fall of 1.6 per cent so far.

Information technology stocks are faring the worst, down 2.6 per cent against the rest of the market. There was a poor lead from the US' tech-heavy Nasdaq index, which fell 2.7 per cent in its latest session.

The financial sector is down 2.3 per cent, and health is down 2.2 per cent.

The only sectors out-performing are utilities, which are up 0.7 per cent thanks to a 1.7 per cent gain in AGL. Consumer staples are doing well because Woolies is only down 0.1 per cent and Coles' owner, Wesfarmers, is up 0.7 per cent. And real estate is off by only 0.2 per cent.

CMC Market's strategist Michael McCarthy this morning explains the extrapolations that led to Wall Street's decline in its latest session"

US equities plummeted overnight on a general risk-off tone. One trigger was the revaluation of tech shares, as Apple lead the fall. Analysts generally interpret the cancellation of additional production of iPhone as a sign of softer demand, leading to a growing concern that similar situations may appear for other US tech giants. At the same time, volatility is higher. US bond markets were closed due to the Veterans' Day holiday. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX) rallied more than 3 per cent overnight. Higher volatility and selling pressure may extend to Asia Pacific equities today. Futures markets are pointing to a rough start for regional investors, and regional tech stocks such as Tencent and Afterpay may be vulnerable if the pessimism on US tech shares spreads.

A stronger US dollar and a general risk-off tone weighed on commodity markets overnight. Gold prices tanked despite being a traditional bolthole. Most key industrial metals were down, zinc and lead dropped most, possibly reflecting a lower risk appetite. In contrast, oil markets were volatile over the last 24 hours.

The S&P/ASX 200 has dropped 55.7 points on opening and is currently at 5885.5 points, a drop of 0.7 per cent.

Information technology is lagging the most, with AfterpayTouch down 6.2 per cent to $11.72 in early trading. And Elders, which yesterday received a surprisingly big boost for a modest half-year outperformance, is down 6.4 per cent to $8.30.

Logistics company K&S Corporation has settled a claim with Aurizon, which will see Aurizon paying $25 million to K&S Corporation without admission of liability. The dispute was over Aurizon's exit from its intermodal rail business about 11 months ago.

The money is being counted as a gain for K&S in the 2017-18 year.

Despite the drought, Ruralco has beaten estimates and announced a 10 per cent increase in post-tax profit to $28.8 million for the full year ending September 30. Underlying earnings per share increased by just 0.3 per cent to 27.5 cents and it will pay a fully franked dividend of 6 cents per share.

"The drought in many parts of the country this year has tested our strategy and reinforced the importance of building a diversified earnings base across our activities and geographies," chief executive Travis Dillon tells the market this morning.

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SPI futures down 57 points or 1% to 5874 at 7.10am AEDT

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Global equities are down to start the new week. The stories driving the overnight moves are slightly different, but the themes remain the same: the dual risks of higher global interest rates and the prospect of slower global growth has put the bears (at least momentarily) back in control. Futures are pointing to a 57-point drop for the ASX at the open.

Good morning and welcome to today's Markets Live blog.

Your editor today is Lucy Battersby (lbattersby@fairfaxmedia.com.au) with help from Fairfax journos and wires.

This blog is not intended as financial advice.