‘Mass uncertainty’ on ASX as five-day win streak is broken
The ASX stumbled into the red on Thursday as US President Donald Trump’s freshly announced auto import tariffs stirs ‘mass uncertainty’ among investors.
The Australian sharemarket took a dive on Thursday as investor concern over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs was reignited by fresh auto import taxes.
The benchmark ASX/200 was down 30 points or 0.38 per cent to 7969 and the broader All Ordinaries also slipped 39.60 points or 0.48 per cent to 8185.50.
The Aussie dollar lifted 0.43 per cent to trade at US63.14c. By the closing bell seven of 11 sectors were in the red, breaking the market’s five consecutive days of gains.
Overnight the US equities also closed on a low, shaken by Trump’s announcement of 25 per cent tariffs on auto imports.
“One day ago (Trump) said he was going to put tariffs on autos and then a day later he said that tariffs would come into force,” Moomoo market analyst Jessica Amir said.
This made investors uneasy and “sets up a scenario that is very bearish for stocks.”
“(Trump) has previously dangled the carrot that we could see tariffs on US chip stocks which would cause Nasdaq 100 companies to fall significantly because they need to adjust for higher costs,” Ms Amir said.
“Markets are bracing for a bear market now and that is on the notion that we could see a repeat of what we saw in the first Trump trade war (in Trumps 2018 term).”
Wall Street felt this sentiment overnight. Dow Jones Industrial slipped 132.91 points or 0.31 per cent to sit at 42454.79, S&P 500 fell 64.45 or 1.12 per cent to 5712.20 and the Nasdaq retreated 372.84 points or 2.04 per cent to 17,899.01.
On the local bourse, investors abandoned expensive technology stocks in a blow to the sector.
Tech darling WiseTech slipped 2.04 per cent to $83.66, Xero shed 0.31 per cent to $159.14 and NEXTDC tumbled 6.46 per cent to $12.01.
Local automotive stocks also suffered. Eagers Automotive retreated 2.67 per cent to $15.66, CAR Group fell 2.44 per cent to $32.80 and ARB Corporation lost 2.02 per cent to $33.41.
The financial sector weighed on the market as investors claimed their profits amid uncertainty, but three of the big four still made slight gains.
The Commonwealth Bank edged lower by 0.12 per cent to $150.04, while Westpac lifted 0.66 per cent to $31.65, NAB rose 0.35 per cent to $34.10 and ANZ added 0.13 per cent to $29.48.
“The reality is that now the Aussie sharemarket is down 7.8 per cent from its record all-time high,” Ms Amir said.
“We might be seeing a larger pull back of say 15 per cent like we saw in 2018.
“Because the same tariffs that happened in 2018 are the same tariffs Trump is putting on right now.
“It basically means short term pain. It doesn’t mean the market will stay low for the rest of the year.”
And a drawdown could be a buying opportunity for long-term investors to make money.
“We don’t know where we’re going yet, we won’t know until April 2,” Ms Amir said, consolidating the significance of ‘Liberation Day’ when the full scale of President Trump’s tariffs will be revealed.
The biggest winner was Healius which leapt 10.69 per cent to $1.45 after they announced a fully franked special dividend of $4.13 a share.
Another bright spot amid the sea of red was The Reject Shop which rocketed 109.52 per cent to $6.60 following a $259m takeover bid from Canadian retailer Dollarama.
The biggest loser was Pro Medicus which tumbled 7.8 per cent to $210.
‘Quiet old Friday’ as ASX gains
The ASX finished slightly up on Friday, but investors remain uncertain over a potential hung parliament and US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Undercover shoppers expose grocery prices
Undercover shoppers bought groceries across Coles, Aldi and Woolies over nine months to see which one offered the lowest prices. Here are the results.
ASX soars for fifth day in a row
The local sharemarket has secured its fifth consecutive day of gains on Wednesday as optimistic investors rallied in 10 of 11 sectors.