Good Morning Fellow Traders, Thanks @Quantum Torus, @Ravgnome...

Good Morning Fellow Traders,

Thanks @Quantum Torus, @Ravgnome amd AM Loungers. Celebration @babysteps' place with Croatia ousting England and securing their place in the 2018 FIFA World Cup against France. Belgium will face England for third place.

The Australian share market and the Aussie dollar have both come under pressure after the US ramped up its trade war with China.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 42.5 points, or 0.68 per cent, at 6,215.6 points, extending Tuesday's 0.44 per cent drop, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 42.6 points, or 0.67 per cent, at 6,300.2 points.

The US announced plans to impose a further $US200 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese products after the close of trade on Wall Street on Tuesday, with investors anxiously awaiting China's response.

The latest move comes just days after the two nations imposed tariffs of $US34 billion on each other's goods.
CMC Markets chief market strategist Michael McCarthy says the latest tariff announcement by the Trump administration has "really scared investors."
"We're seeing anti-growth movement across the markets, all of the Asia-Pacific exchanges are under pressure, every single one of them in the red," Mr McCarthy said.

Fears about the global economic outlook due to the escalating trade war triggered big falls across the energy, materials, industrials and financial sectors.

Rio Tinto dropped 1.8 per cent to $80.16, BHP Billiton fell 1.3 per cent to $33.78 and Wesfarmers lost one per cent to $48.88.

The nation's big four banks all finished in the red, with Commonwealth Bank falling 0.5 per cent to $74.05 and National Australia Bank losing 0.7 per cent to $27.65, ANZ slipping 0.8 per cent to $28.57 and Westpac falling 0.7 per cent to $29.29.

Bucking the broader market were some consumer-exposed stocks, including supermarket giant Woolworths and travel operator Flight Centre.
Woolworth rose 1.4 per cent to $31.28 and Flight Centre gained 3.8 per cent to $64.61.

The Australian dollar lost ground due to concerns about the global economic growth and lower commodity prices.
"Iron ore is an important export, copper is an important export, oil and gas are important exports so with all of those prices down there's less demand for Australian dollars," Mr McCarthy said.
The Aussie was trading at 74.10 US cents at 1700 AEST on Wednesday, down from 74.64 US cents on Tuesday.

ON THE ASX
* The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 42.5 points, or 0.68 per cent, at 6,215.6 points
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 42.6 points, or 0.67 per cent, at 6,300.2 points
* The SPI200 futures contract was down 38 points, or 0.61 per cent, at 6,173 points at 1630 AEST

CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1700 AEST:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 74.10 US cents, from 74.64 US cents on Tuesday
* 82.24 Japanese yen, from 82.894 yen
* 63.16 euro cents, from 63.54 euro cents
* 55.85 British pence, from 56.32 pence
* 108.74 NZ cents, from 109.08 cents

GOLD:
The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1700 AEST was $US1,251.92 per fine ounce, down from $US1,256.98 per fine ounce on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks looked set on Wednesday to snap a four-day winning streak after Washington’s threat to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods fanned trade war fears, while a sharp drop in oil prices hit energy.

China responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats by accusing the United States of bullying and warned that it would hit back.

Industrial names including Boeing, 3M and Caterpillar, which have been among the hardest hit throughout the recent trade dispute, were among the Dow’s biggest drags on Wednesday.

The materials index, down 1.7 percent, was another big negative influence among sectors, with Freeport-McMoRan down 3.7 percent as copper prices hit their lowest in about a year.

“The tone of today didn’t start off well due to tariff fears,” said Michael Antonelli, managing director, institutional sales trading, at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee.
But, he said, “the drop in oil is driving this extra drop lower.”

The S&P 500 energy index fell 2.1 percent, leading sector declines. U.S. crude oil futures settled down 5 percent on the trade dispute escalation and as expectations of growing supplies increased on news that Libya would reopen ports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 186.39 points, or 0.75 percent, to 24,733.27, the S&P 500 lost 16.59 points, or 0.59 percent, to 2,777.25 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 32.84 points, or 0.42 percent, to 7,726.35.

The drop is not as steep as what was seen in late March and early April when the escalating trade rhetoric between China and the United States led to the S&P falling more than 2 percent on four occasions.
The market slide has been contained by the speculation that the Trump administration could change its mind by the end of August, when the tariffs are due to come into effect, some strategists said.
Investors are also looking forward to the earnings season, where S&P 500 companies are expected to post second-quarter profit growth of around 21 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.

However, Morgan Stanley told clients that the earnings season could trigger risk aversion among investors if companies start warning of slower growth due to trade tariffs.
Chipmakers, which largely depend on China for their revenue, weighed the most, with the Philadelphia semiconductor index falling 2.4 percent.
The utilities sector was the only one in positive territory, with a 0.8 percent gain.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.31-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.61-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and 1 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 59 new highs and 43 new lows.
Source: Netwealth Morning Business Roundup

Breakfast for football fans this morning. Cocoa and Berry Chia Muesli and some coffee to keep you awake during the day.




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