Sydney - Australian stocks lost 3.1 per cent Tuesday as investors took their lead from the big plunge on Wall Street.

The ASX 200 gave up 121 points, or 3.1 per cent, to 3,675. The market opened 2.6 per cent lower after Wall Street registered its biggest fall in two months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.4 per cent.

Resources companies were the hardest hit as analysts marked down companies, following a World Bank report warning the global recession would be deeper than it had previously forecast.

The Australian dollar traded sharply lower at 78.42 US cents from Monday's fix of 79.88 US cents.

"It's the cyclical stocks that have rallied strongly over the last three months that are taking the biggest beating," said Martin Laycoss from Macquarie Private Wealth. (dpa)