Australian shares plunge, commodities slump as tariff concerns grow
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More news: The Australian sharemarket was down 3.8% in early afternoon trading, paring losses of more than 6% at market open.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 3.81% to 7,375.9 at 1:30pm AEST.
The energy sector, which had earlier shed nearly 10%, was down 5.6%. Oil giants Santos (-8.6%) and Ampol (-8.2%) remained two of the market's worst performers.
Materials (-4.7%) was the next worst performing sector, followed by financials (-4.3%).
Mining giants BHP (-5.2%), Fortescue (-4.6%) and Rio Tinto (-3.5%) trimmed declines, as did big four banks Commonwealth Bank (-5.2%), ANZ (-4.1%), Westpac (-3.9%) and National Australia Bank (-3.9%).
Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down more than 9% and China's CSI300 blue-chip index fell more than 5%.
Australian dollar slumps to five-year low vs greenback
More news: The Australian dollar has dropped below 60 cents for the first time in five years, extending losses after sustaining a heavy fall on Friday.
By 10:45 am, the Aussie dollar was trading at 59.95 US cents. It had dropped to a low of 59.44 US cents earlier in trading on Monday, its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The slide comes after China retaliated to US tariffs by announcing a 34% tariff on all US imports, raising fears of a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. It also raised risks for Australia, which counts China as its biggest trading partner.
Asian stocks slump, join global selloff
More news: Stocks across Asia-Pacific markets have joined the global selloff amid growing concerns of an escalating global trade war sparked by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
Japan's Nikkei sank 7.8% in early trading to its lowest level since late 2023, while South Korea KOSPI index lost 4.6% after opening. It comes after a sharp drop in US stock futures in after-hours trading on Sunday, suggesting a continuation of the two-day selloff that wiped trillions from equity values.
Australian shares plunge 6% in early trade as tariff concerns grow
The news: The Australian sharemarket has dived in early trading on fears of an impending global recession amid an escalating global trade war triggered by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
The numbers: The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 468 points or 6.1% to 7,199.80 within the first few minutes of trade, with each of the 11 sectoral indices trading sharply lower.
The context: The slide in the local market follows a sharp drop in US stock futures in after-hours trading on Sunday, suggesting a continuation of the two-day selloff that wiped trillions from equity values after Trump's tariffs announcement last week. Earlier, retaliatory tariffs by China on Friday in response to the US tariffs putt the Nasdaq Composite in a bear market and the Dow Jones Industrial Average in correction territory as it sharply raised concerns of a global trade war.
In the local market, materials, energy and financial stocks sustained the worst falls. Each of the Big Four banks were trading between 7% and 8% lower, while top miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group were all down between 6% and 9%. Energy majors Woodside and Santos were down 8% and 10% respectively. Technology stocks including WiseTech and Xero were down more than 5% each.
The source: ASX
