ASX starts lower as healthcare stocks sink on Trump pharma tariffs
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More news: Australian shares slipped at the open as healthcare stocks led losses following the announcement by US President Donald Trump of an impending 100% tariff on certain pharmaceuticals.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.20 points to 8,755.6 at 10:30am AEST. Eight of the 11 sectoral indices were in negative territory.
Healthcare stocks slumped 1.7%, with CSL and Pro Medicus down 3.9% and 4.6% respectively.
Miners were the best performers, up 0.9% as iron ore giants BHP (+2%) and Rio Tinto (+1.1%) lifted.
Australian shares to drop as US stocks extend losses on new economic data
The news: Australian shares are set to fall at the open after US stocks ended lower overnight, as new economic data increased uncertainty about the Federal Reserve's outlook for interest rate cuts.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: down 26 points to 8,752
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.38%, S&P 500 down 0.50% and Nasdaq down 0.50%
- Europe: CAC 40 down 0.41%, DAX down 0.56% and FTSE 100 down 0.39%
- Spot gold: up 0.36% to USD3,749 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 0.28% at USD68.77/bbl and US WTI up 0.35% to USD65.22/bbl
- AUD: down 0.66% to 65.38 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 3.32% to USD109,578.
The context: The S&P 500 fell for a third straight session, marking its longest losing streak for a month.
New US data showed initial jobless claims dropped 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 218,000 for the week ended September 20. Other data showed the US economy grew faster than previously estimated in the second quarter amid strong consumer spending and business investment.
Investors also reacted to comments by Chicago Fed president Austan Goolsbee, who said on Thursday that he was uneasy with cutting rates too quickly, with inflation a risk.
