Australian shares to start lower after volatile Wall Street session

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open lower even as Wall Street bounced back from deeper losses, even as trade tensions escalated following US President Donald Trump's new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.

The numbers: Updated at 7.25am AEDT:

• ASX futures: down 27 points or 0.33% at 8,139
• Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.44%, S&P 500 down 0.10%, Nasdaq up 0.9%
• Europe: FTSE 100 down 1.27%, CAC 40 down 1.85%, DAX down 3.54%
• Spot gold: up 0.82% to USD2,916.57 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent down 0.46% to USD71.29/bbl, US WTI up 0.25% to USD68.54/bbl
• AUD: up 0.44% at 62.51 US cents
• Bitcoin: up 2.19% to USD88,069.20.

The context: All three major US stock indices plunged earlier in the session but recovered some of the losses after the 25% US tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, along with doubled duties on Chinese goods, took effect. China and Canada retaliated while Mexico has also vowed to retaliate. Shares in financials and industrials were the biggest losers among the S&P 500's 11 main sectors, while the CBOE market volatility index rose to its highest level since 20 December.

What to watch: US President Trump will deliver his first address to Congress; December quarter GDP data to be released at 11.30am.