Australian shares to fall as Wall Street slides on tariff uncertainty

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open sharply lower, tracking a fresh slide on Wall Street as investors weighed the economic impact of the escalating US-China trade tensions.

The numbers: Updated at 7.25am AEDT:

• ASX futures: down 116 points or 1.5% at 7,622 points
• Wall Street: Dow Jones down 2.50%, S&P 500 down 3.46%, Nasdaq down 4.31%
• Europe: FTSE 100 up 3.04%, CAC 40 up 3.83%, DAX up 4.53%
• Spot gold: down 0.01% to USD3,175.87 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent down 3.12% to USD63.44/bbl, US WTI down 3.66% to USD60.07/bbl
• AUD: up 0.02% at 62.25 US cents
• Bitcoin: down 3.31% to USD79,839.50.

The context: All three major US stock indices suffered steep losses, giving up much of the previous session's gains amid growing concerns over the escalating trade war after the White House confirmed that the cumulative tariff rate on China would actually total 145%, instead of 125% stated previously. A Labor Department report showing an unexpected dip in US consumer prices failed to enthuse the market, amid uncertainty for the Federal Reserve in light of ongoing trade tensions. Among the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, all but consumer staples ended in negative territory, with energy and tech suffering the largest percentage drops.

What to watch: Overseas Arrivals and Departures data for February at 11.30am; AMP annual general meeting at 10.00am.