Thanks afternoon crew. End-of-day summary: A rebound in US...

Thanks afternoon crew.

End-of-day summary:

A rebound in US futures from Wall Street's worst week in 18 months helped Australian shares trim a sharp opening fall.

The ASX 200 finished the day just 25 points or 0.32% lower after earlier falling as much as 95 points.

The recovery was paced by property trusts, tech companies and consumer staples. Drags included retailers, healthcare providers and banks.

Buying interest was stoked by hints bargain-hunters might look to take advantage of a 4.3% slide in US stocks last week as recession fears once again trumped rate-cut hopes, as they did at the start of last month.

S&P 500 futures rallied 0.43% this afternoon. The index dropped 1.73% on Friday to a three-week low.