ASX200 books its worst quarter since Covid on Trump tariff fears

The ASX 200 has slumped to its worst quarter since Covid on the back of fears of an economic trade war

The Australian sharemarket was hammered on Monday, with every sector closing in the red after alarm bells were raised about the risk of a US recession.

The benchmark ASX200 slumped by 138.60 points, or 1.74 per cent, to finish the session at 7843.40 points.

The broader All Ordinaries also finished heavily in the red down 142.30 points, or 1.74 per cent, to close at 8053.20 points.

The Australian dollar fell 0.1 per cent and is now buying 62.77 US cents.

Australian equity investors have now endured the worst start to the year since the Covid pandemic, down 3.9 per cent for the first quarter, after cutting another $41bn on Monday’s trading.

$41bn was wiped off the local share market. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

On a particularly brutal day for investors every sector finished down at least 1 per cent.

Mining and energy stocks fared worst, with their respective indexes 3.4 per cent and 2.7 per cent lower.

The big three iron ore miners sold off sharply, with BHP slumping 3.8 per cent to $38.20, Fortescue losing 4 per cent to $15.37 and Rio Tinto closing down 4.7 per cent to $115.49.

On energy, Woodside shares dipped 2.9 per cent to $23.12 and Santos finished 2.1 per cent lower to $6.66.

The local sell off comes after the US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs are coming on April 2, with fears of a trade war and US recession spooking markets.

IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said world markets were falling after a report released by Goldman Sachs said the chances of a US recession had risen to 35 per cent.

“When they put something out like that the markets sit up and take notice,” he said.

“At the very top line the idea of the US heading into a recession ends up creating mayhem.”

Mr Trump has promised his reciprocal tariff plan on April 2 will include all nations, not just a smaller group of 10 to 15 that has the biggest trade imbalance with the United States.

The falls come as investors fear a global trade war. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

Despite the overall market carnage, it was a mixed day for the big four Australian banks. Australia’s largest bank CBA added 0.3 per cent to $150.93, NAB shed 0.4 per cent to $34.02, Westpac dipped 1 per cent to $31.57 and ANZ closed 1.9 per cent lower to $29.02.

The slump on the local bourse followed a bleak session on from Wall Street on Friday night.

The Dow Jones fell 1.69 per cent to 41,583.90 while the S and P 500 dropped 1.97 per cent to 5,580.94.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fared the worst, down 2.70 per cent to 17,322.99.

The US sell off continued after hours with futures tied to the Dow Jones down 0.35 per cent on Monday Australian time, while S and P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.64 and 1.18 per cent, respectively.

In corporate news, the tranche of shares in Northern Minerals that five Chinese entities were ordered to divest in September last year were finally sold, the company said.

Shares jumped 5 per cent to $0.021 on the news.

Originally published as ASX200 books its worst quarter since Covid on Trump tariff fears