The Aussie market has accelerated its decline in the last hour and is now firmly underwater heading into the afternoon session, with the XJO down 0.9%.

Despite the mildly positive leads from international markets last night, nearly every sector is in negative territory.

Healthcare, consumer discretionary and IT stocks are the worst performing sectors, whilst the telco sector is the best on the back of a more than 1% gain for Telstra.

In company news, Sigma Pharmaceuticals has surged on the back of a better-than-expected first-half profit results.

The company attributed the result to improved operating performance and lower interest costs. The stock is up more than 13%.

In economic news, consumer confidence has rebounded strongly in September after falling to its lowest level in more than two-years in August.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute index rose 8.1% in September, to 96.9.

Elsewhere, housing starts have fallen sharply in the second quarter, defying expectations of an increase.

Housing starts dropped 4.7% in the three-months to 30 June against a forecast 2% gain.

Around the region, Asian markets are mixed; the Hang Seng is up 0.3% whilst the Nikkei is down 0.2%.