Market wrap: ASX200 tumbles on new Trump tariff threat and Wall St rout

The local stock market tanked on Friday on the back of a Wall St bloodbath and a new Trump tariff threat that sent the big miners into a tailspin.

The Australian sharemarket plunged into a sea of red on Friday as the prospect of additional tariffs on China threw the big miners into a tailspin and a sharp sell-off on Wall St washed over the local bourse.

The benchmark ASX200 slumped 95.8 points, or 1.16 per cent, to close at 8172.4 points, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 102.2 points, or 1.2 per cent, to finish at 8403.9.

The All Technology Index retreated 1.86 per cent to 3708.3.

The decline was broadbased, with 10 of 11 industry sectors ending in the red, led by IT with a sharp 2.86 per cent fall and materials with a 2.47 per cent retreat.

US President Donald Trump’s announcement of an additional 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods propelled the sell-off, with the mining giants all tumbling on the prospect of reduced demand for raw commodities in the Middle Kingdom.

Singapore iron ore futures traded down 1.57 per cent across the day to $102.7 a tonne.

BHP lost 2.45 per cent to $39.04 a share, while Rio Tinto fell 2.85 per cent to $113.37 and Fortescue declined 3.73 per cent to $16.51.

Mineral Resources plunged 6.04 per cent to $22.71.

The coal miners also fell, with Whitehaven Coal slipping 0.53 per cent to $5.63 and Stanmore Resources sliding 4.17 per cent to $2.30.

The ASX200 fell sharply on Friday to end the month down 4.2 per cent. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Tech darling Xero fell 3.29 per cent to $170.73, WiseTech Global declined lost 4.78 per cent to $89.50 and TechnologyOne shed 3.38 per cent to $29.47.

The rout followed a bloodbath on Wall St overnight on Thursday, led by a 8.5 per cent fall in chip behemoth Nvidia, which pulled the tech-heavy Nasdaq index down 2.78 per cent.

The Dow Jones lost 193 points, or 0.45 per cent, to finish at 43,239, while the S and P 500 retreated 1.59 per cent to 5861.57.

US jobs data also heightened concerns about a possible slowdown in the world’s largest economy, IG markets analyst Tony Sycamore said.

“With headlines surrounding tariffs, inflation, geopolitical issues, DOGE’s aggressive job cuts, a slowing economy, and waning investor interest in AI and tech stocks, it’s uncertain what might alleviate the current malaise in key US stock indices,” Mr Sycamore said on Friday.

“Jobs data last night showed initial jobless claims rose by 22,000 to 242,000 last week, the highest in two months, heightening fears of an economic slowdown.

“Initial jobless claims numbers exclude Federal Government employees dismissed by DOGE, whose claims are handled through a separate program.”

Star Entertainment failed to release its half-year results on Friday. Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

Friday’s fall pushed the local bourse to book 4.2 per cent loss for the month of February.

In corporate news, the saga of Star Entertainment entered a fresh zone of uncertainty.

The company is teetering on the verge of collapse, with the gaming giant failing to lodge its half-year accounts and notifying the market it was searching for “possible liquidity solutions” that might keep it trading.

Stock in the company collapsed 15.4 per cent to 11c for a market capitalisation of just $315.5m, making it the worst performer of the day.

Retail giant Harvey Norman lifted 2.55 per cent to $5.22 after delivering $4.8bn in sales and $279.4m in net profits after tax for H12025.

The Aussie dollar lost 0.35 per cent to buy US62.1c at the closing bell.

The top gainer on the ASX200 was Pexa Group, which leapt 8.1 per cent to $12.31 after announcing an on-market share buyback of up to $50m.

Originally published as Market wrap: ASX200 tumbles on new Trump tariff threat and Wall St rout