Domestic equities took a big hit today from the worsening sentiment of the broader market. Asian markets opened to grim news that oil prices had fallen off the current sideways trend to a new bottom. Brent crude futures slumped to approximately USD32/barrel after a surprise jump in U.S. gasoline inventories. Consequently, the highly volatile Shanghai Composite once again suffered a 7% slide, forcing the local authority to halt trading for the second time this week.