Australian shares open 1.2% lower amid US tariff tensions
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The news: The ASX 200 is close to correction territory following another day of falls on Wall Street and after US President Donald Trump rejected a plea to exempt Australia from new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
The ASX 200 index was down almost 2% shortly after midday before paring some losses. At 2:51pm AEDT it was 1.8% lower at 7,750.7.
The discretionary sector, down 2.9%, was hit hardest in the selloff. Its largest stock, Wesfarmers, was trading 3.7% lower.
The financial sector fell 2.2% as big four lenders National Australia Bank (-2.8%), ANZ (-2.7%), Westpac (-2.9%) and Commonwealth Bank (-2.5%) all dropped.
Other large declines were felt by mining giants Rio Tinto (-1.9%) and BHP (-1.6%), and the market's largest energy company, Woodside Energy (-1.9%), as well as healthcare stock CSL (-1.4%).
Australian shares open 1.2% lower; healthcare, industrial stocks hit
More news: The Australian sharemarket has opened more than 1% lower, following Wall Street's lead as trade tensions continued to weigh on investor sentiment and US President Donald Trump declined to exempt Australia from US steel and aluminium tariffs.
The ASX 200 was down 96 points or 1.2% to 7,793.90 in early trading, with all sectors in the red and banks, healthcare, industrials and consumer stocks among the worst affected.
ResMed shares tumbled 6% to $35.16, while peers CSL and Cochlear were also down 1.5% each. Each of the Big Four banks was down more than 1%, while Brambles and Breville Group also lost nearly 3% each after turning ex-dividend.
Earlier, all three major US stock indices closed lower after Trump first announced he would double tariffs on all imported Canadian steel and aluminium products, then backed off from the plan, adding to investor unease over his trade policies.
Australian shares to fall as tariff tensions drag Wall Street
The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open lower, tracking losses on Wall Street after US President Donald Trump escalated trade tensions with Canada and declined to exempt Australia from US steel and aluminium tariffs.
The numbers: Updated at 7.25am AEDT:
- ASX futures: down 75 points or 0.95% at 7,809 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 1.14%, S&P 500 down 0.76%, Nasdaq down 0.18%
- Europe: FTSE 100 down 1.21%, CAC 40 down 1.31%, DAX down 1.29%
- Spot gold: up 0.95% to USD2,916.20 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 0.82% to USD69.85/bbl, US WTI up 0.8% to USD66.56/bbl
- AUD: up 0.26% at 62.95 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 5.17% to USD82,821.67.
The context: US stocks closed lower but pared losses after hopes of a possible peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. Earlier, Trump said he would double tariffs set to take effect within hours on all imported Canadian steel and aluminium products to 50%, adding to investor unease over his trade policies. Stocks recovered somewhat after the US agreed to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after talks in Saudi Arabia in which Kyiv showed readiness to accept a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in its conflict with Russia.
What to watch: ASIC and former CEO of The Star, Matthias Bekier, will appear for hearings before the Federal Court in Sydney.
The source: Bloomberg
