Afterpay and gold stocks lead the pack as ASX slides in afternoon trade

After a promising start, the Australian share market has finished in the red, with commodity stocks bearing the brunt as the price of iron ore drops. The ASX 200 opened Wednesday in positive territory, with optimism from the Nasdaq's surge in the US helping local tech stocks such as Afterpay. ANZ analysts noted that commodities were broadly taking a hit on global markets, including Australia's key export, iron ore. "Selling re-emerged across commodity markets, as technical indicators suggesting several commodities were in overbought territory have seen investors liquidate positions," they said. Afterpay gain follows US tech surge After taking a hit the last month, Afterpay was one of Wednesday's best ASX 200 performers with an 8.4 per cent gain. Market snapshot at 8:00am : ASX 200 futures 0.2pc; ASX 200 closed +0.4 at 6,771 AUD: 77.19 US cents, 55.54 British pence, 64.84 Euro cents, 83.74 Japanese yen, $NZ1.08 US: Dow Jones +0.2pc at 31,872, S&P 500 1.5pc at 3,878, Nasdaq +3.7pc at 13,069 Europe: FTSE 100 +0.2pc at 6,730, DAX +0.4pc at 14,438, Euro Stoxx 50 +0.6pc at 3,786 Commodities: Brent crude -1.4pc at $US67.29/barrel, spot gold +2.2pc at $US1,714/ounce New York analyst Kristina Hooper also said that the market is adjusting to lower interest rates.