ASX opens lower as ARB plunges
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More news: Australian shares opened lower, weighed down by losses in the materials and real estate sector.
The benchmark ASX 200 index was down by 31.7 points, or 0.36%, to 8,842 at 10:37am AEDT. Five of the 11 sectorial indices opened in the red.
Tech (+0.56%) led early gains, lifted by Xero (+0.03), Technology One (+0.15%), Codan (+0.65%) and Data#3 (+0.36%).
ARB Group (-9.67%) was the worst performer across the ASX 200 after flagging a 16.3% decline in underlying profit before tax for FY26 compared with the prior year.
Hub24 (+7.43%) surged at the open after reporting platform net inflows of $5.6 billion for the second quarter, up 2% year on year.
Telix Pharmaceuticals (+4.65%) also opened higher after receiving clearance from China to proceed with the filing of its lead prostate cancer imaging agent Illuccix.
Real Estate (-0.80%) was the worst performing sector at the open, with the fall led by Goodman Group (-1.15%), Scentre Group (-0.24%), Stockland (-0.18%) and Vicinity Centres (-0.20%).
The Australian government is set to introduce legislation to parliament on hate crimes and gun law reforms, following the Bondi terror attacks, at 2:00pm AEDT.
Australian shares to open lower as Trump tariff threats hit stocks
The news: Australian shares are set to open lower after European stocks, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures slipped on Monday amid ongoing concerns over Donald Trump's threat to impose additional tariffs on goods imported from European nations that oppose his planned takeover of Greenland.
Meanwhile, gold and silver prices jumped to fresh record highs. The euro recovered from a seven-week low, rising 0.38% to $1.16, while oil prices dipped on concerns that a potential trade war between the US and Europe could weigh on demand.
The numbers: Updated at 7:37am AEDT:
- ASX futures: down 34 points, or 0.38% to 8,856.
- Europe: CAC 40 down 1.78%, DAX down 1.34% and FTSE 100 down 0.39%.
- Spot gold: up 1.81% to USD4,678 per ounce.
- Oil prices: Brent down 0.15% to USD64.03/bbl and US WTI up 0.15% to USD59.42/bbl.
- AUD: up 0.47% at 67.14 US cents.
- Bitcoin: down 0.58% to USD93,081.
The context: US markets were closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr Day holiday, though S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures fell more than 1.2%.
Major European indices including the STOXX 600, DAX, CAC 40 and FTSE traded lower on Monday as concerns mounted over Donald Trump's threat to impose an additional 10% tariff on goods imported from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Britain. The proposed tariffs would rise to 25% on 1 June if no agreement on Greenland is reached.
Several major European Union states condemned the tariff threats as economic coercion. France proposed responding with a range of countermeasures including reinstating a previously suspended package of tariffs on EUR93 billion ($161 billion) worth of US imports, as well as deploying measures under the EU's Anti-Coercion Instrument that could target US services trade or investments.
On the data front, the People’s Bank of China is set to publish its one- and five-year loan prime rates for January at 12:00pm AEDT.
Locally, the Australian government is scheduled to introduce legislation to parliament on hate crimes and gun law reforms following the Bondi terror attacks at 2:00pm AEDT.
The source: Reuters
