The Australian sharemarket are set to tumbled 2 per cent at the open after a rally in New York swiftly reversed after the White House said the US would move forwards with total tariffs worth 104 per cent on Chinese exports on Wednesday.
ASX futures were pointing down 154 points, or 2 per cent to 7379, suggesting the S&P/ASX 200 will entirely erase the prior day’s 2.2 per cent gain, which was its largest since November 2022.
Fears about China sent the Australian dollar below US60¢ and iron ore hit a seven-month low to trade at $US94.89 a tonne.
A spokesperson for the White House confirmed the United States was pressing ahead with the decision to impose total tariffs worth 104 per cent because China had failed to rescind its threat of retaliatory levies.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang said his country has ample policy tools to “fully offset” any negative external shocks, and reiterated his optimism about the growth of the world’s second-largest economy in 2025.
Investment rules don’t apply
“Unless the president sharply reverses course, the current investment rules may no longer apply,” Morningstar vice president for research John Rekenthaler said. “For more than 40 years, US equity investors have benefited from buying on dips. We now face another unknown condition: high global tariffs… it would be rash to assume that recent stock market history will repeat.”
The S&P 500 tumbled after leaping more than 4 per cent in early trading. It ended the day down 1.6 per cent, on the cusp of falling into a bear market. The Nasdaq dropped 2.2 per cent.
Materials paced all 11 of the S&P 500’s sectors lower after the US-listed shares of BHP fell 5 per cent, while Rio Tinto’s shares slid 4.1 per cent. Apple and Nike, which have manufacturing and supply operations in China, nosedived. Apple shed 5 per cent, extending its losses for the past five days to more than 20 per cent.
In commodities, iron ore and global oil benchmark Brent tumbled on fears the dramatic escalation in the trade dispute between China and the US could hurt demand from one of the world’s major iron ore and oil importers.
Closer to home, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand – which named Christian Hawkesby interim governor on Tuesday – is expected to cut its key rate by 25 basis points today and is expected to signal that it’s leaning towards further rate cuts….
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