ASX down 1.5% as energy and healthcare stocks weigh
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: The Australian sharemarket recovered some early losses to trade 1.5% lower at midday AEST.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 116.4 points to 7,593.2, with 10 of its 11 sectoral indices in the red.
Energy (-3.1%) was the worst performing sector, with oil majors Woodside Energy (-3.1%) and Santos (-2.9%) leading declines.
Healthcare (-2.9%) fell as investors braced for impending US tariffs on pharmaceutical imports. Biotech giant CSL (-4.1%) weighed on the sector, while regenerative medicine company Mesoblast (-11.8%) was the worst performing company on the ASX 200 index.
Gold miners were the biggest winners, making up all of the 10 of the best performing ASX 200 stocks after morning trade. Evolution Mining and De Grey Mining each added more than 5%.
The Australian dollar held Thursday's advance against the greenback and was last buying 62.40 US cents.
Australian shares fall 2% as trade tensions mount
The news: The Australian sharemarket slumped in early trading, tracking a decline in US stock futures as investors weighed the economic impact of escalating US–China trade tensions.
The numbers: The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 169.10 points or 2.2% to 7,540.50 within the first few minutes of trade, with each of its 11 sectoral indices in red.
The context: The biggest declines were concentrated in the energy, financial, technology and healthcare stocks over the fallout of a full-blown trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. Each of the Big Four banks were trading more than 3% lower.
Healthcare majors CSL and Cochlear were down 3% and 2.2% respectively, while energy majors Woodside and Santos also dropped 3% each. Top miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group were down between 2% and 3%, while Computershare and Wisetech fell around 3% each.
The lower-than-expected open in the local market follows a drop in US stock futures in after-hours trading after a hefty decline overnight, after the White House confirmed that the cumulative tariff rate on China would actually total 145%, instead of 125% stated previously, triggering a sell-off.
The source: ASX
