Aussie dollar hits 10-year low, ASX falls as big miners slump

The Australian share market has moved lower amid falls in the heavyweight mining and financial sectors amid the escalating US-China trade war.

The Australian share market has moved lower amid falls in the heavyweight mining and financial sectors amid the escalating US-China trade war.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 30.1 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 6,758.8 points at 1200 AEST on Friday, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 35.9 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 6,836.0 points.

Mining giant BHP was down 3.20 per cent to $38.97, Rio Tinto was down 3.70 per cent to $94.19 and Fortescue Metals was down 6.08 per cent to $7.645 after iron ore prices retreated.

But gold miners Newcrest, Northern Star, Evolution Mining, Saracen, St Barbara and Resolute Mining were up between 5.05 per cent and 9.97 per cent as the price of the yellow metal rose.

The energy sector had the largest losses by midday, sliding 2.46 per cent as a whole after oil prices plummeted more than seven per cent overnight following Donald Trump’s threat to impose even higher tariffs on China. Santos, Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Beach Energy were down between 2.1 per cent and 5.8 per cent.

The big four banks were mixed, with ANZ down 1.3 per cent to $27.65, Commonwealth down 0.2 per cent to $81.78, NAB down 1.3 per cent to $28.26 but Westpac was up 0.2 per cent to $28.86.

Only the property, industrial and healthcare sectors advanced. Mirvac was up 2.5 per cent, Scentre Group rose 1.1 per cent and Goodman Group added 2.7 per cent.

Pharma giant CSL was up 1.3 per cent to $231.82 while medical supplier ResMed was up 2.3 per cent to $19.42 and Cochlear was up 1.4 per cent to $223.275. The local currency fell to its lowest levels since 2009 overnight against the resurgent US dollar.

The Aussie dollar is buying 68.11 US cents, from 68.45 US cents on Thursday.

Yields on Australian government bonds suffered their biggest one-day loss since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union on June 24, 2016, hitting record lows as investors flocked to the safe harbour investment.

Apart from a January 3 flash-crash that lasted just minutes, the last time the Aussie dollar was buying less than 68.50 US cents, which is where it was in the depths of the global financial crisis in early 2009.

The S&P/ASX200 index, meanwhile, closed down 23.7 points on Thursday, or 0.35 per cent, to 6,788.9. The broader All Ordinaries was down 24.8 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 6,871.9.

“There was a little bit of disappointment, given the confusion on Jerome Powell’s press conference,” said Bell Direct equities analyst Julia Lee.

The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Thursday but Mr Powell, the Fed chairman, warned that it wasn’t “the beginning of a long series of rate cuts,” surprising many traders who thought it was.

“He wasn’t as aggressive as markets were anticipating,” Ms Lee said. US markets lost more than a percentage point on the news.