End-of-day summary:
June got off to a downbeat start as soft US stock futures hinted at early selling pressure on Wall Street tonight as tariff uncertainty continued to depress risk appetite.
The ASX 200 declined 21 points or 0.24%. The local market was coming off a second-straight winning month since global stocks hit their tariff-panic lows in early April.
Iron ore miners and energy producers were among the session's biggest drags, outmuscling gains in defensive assets such as QBE, Telstra and Coles. Soul Pattinson and Brickworks were the index's best after announcing a $14 billion mega-merger.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.5% at the Australian market close following signs last week that the White House's tariff campaign faces resistance at home and abroad. The S&P 500 finished flat on Friday after President Donald Trump accused China of violating their initial trade agreement. A week of tariff headlines also included a temporary court-ordered halt to most tariffs before an appeal court temporarily reinstated them until a higher court settles the issue of their legality.
