Canberra, Aug 25 (IANS): The Australian share market slumped at the opening on Tuesday but then rallied within an hour.

Bargain hunters moved in stocks which were slashed in Monday's trade, losing 60 billion Australian dollars in local value, reported Xinhua news agency.

The S&P/ASX200 index fell 51.61 points, or 1.03 percent, to 4,949.7 points, while the broader All Ordinaries lost 57.81 points, or 1.15 percent.

In earlier trade, the benchmark index touched as low as 4,928.3 points, the first time it has traded below 5,000 since July 2013, though Tuesday morning's sell-off was not as severe as some had been expecting, with many investors bracing for declines of up to 4 percent at the open.

Energy stocks weighed 2.51 percent at the open. Santos fell 3.02 percent, while Woodside lost 1.73 percent.

The financial sector fell 0.51 percent. ANZ shares shed 0.71 percent while Commonwealth Bank fell 0.34 percent. The National Australia Bank lost 0.37 percent and Westpac gained 0.51 percent.