Australia’s sharemarket edged lower on Monday as investors weighed the impact of President Donald Trump’s decision to impose 25 per cent tariffs on aluminium and steel imports.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index closed down 0.3 per cent, or 28.6 points, to 8482.80 after earlier falling as much as 0.6 per cent, with eight of 11 sectors finishing in the red.

Investor angst about Trump’s tariff plans for aluminium and steel exports – and the impact on global growth – initially weighed on the index, before investors reckoned with the fact that less than 1 per cent of China’s steel exports went to the US in 2024.

‘Marginal impact’

China is Australia’s biggest buyer of iron ore, a key ingredient used to make steel. The Australian dollar slipped, then recovered after the announcement, and was trading 0.1 per cent higher at 4.40pm.

IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said the levy on US steel imports would have only a marginal impact on the Australian market, compared to Mr Trump’s plan for a 10 per cent tariff on all Chinese imports.

“Traders started to dig around [after the announcement] and looked at what the actual implication was for China and by extension, the ASX 200. It’s just not as bad as the initial headline suggests,” he said.

Shares in Australia’s biggest steelmaker, BlueScope, lifted 1.8 per cent to $21.90 as investors bet it would be a net beneficiary of US steel tariffs. BlueScope has $5 billion of investments in the US and generates more than half of its profits from its North American operations.

Even so, Australian miners still fell as the tariff talk weighed on investor sentiment. Shares of Fortescue and Rio Tinto declined 1.5 per cent to $19.42 and $119.32, respectively, while BHP lost per cent to $40.09.

Meanwhile, a sell-off in US tech stocks on Friday weighed on the ASX’s rate sensitive technology companies after US data showed the unemployment rate fell from 4.1 per cent to 4 per cent, dampening hopes for imminent rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

WiseTech also dragged on the sector, tumbling 4.4 per cent to $124.20 after The Australian Financial Review reported founder Richard White faced three new allegations of inappropriate conduct.

CAR Group, which runs an online marketplace, posted the biggest loss, despite the company raising its dividend and reporting a 9 per cent rise in revenue in the first half. The shares fell 6.5 per cent to $38.36.

Utilities, healthcare and consumer staples finished in the green, as traders bought into defensive sectors that are less reliant on economic growth.

Stocks on the move

In corporate news, Star Entertainment Group leapt 13.6 per cent to 12.5¢. The beleaguered casino operator said it would not accept proposals from Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium to take over its 50 per cent stake and debt in the Queen’s Wharf complex in Brisbane.

Star Entertainment’s former leadership team has been  accused of putting profitability ahead of risk and misleading a major lender in a landmark six-week trial instigated by ASIC.

JB Hi-Fi shares reversed early gains to fall 4.6 per cent to $97.78, despite the retailer’s group sales climbing nearly 10 per cent in the first half to $5.67 billion, which was well ahead of market expectations. The stock had rallied into the results.

Mayne Pharma Group soared more than 24 per cent to $5.82 after the company forecast a 275 per cent leap in earnings owing to strong growth in its women’s health range.

And Ansell, which manufactures medical gear, leapt 8.1 per cent to $37.70 after the company said it was planning price rises to offset US tariffs.