ASX 200 live: Rio's weak March quarter; BOQ profit beat; Zip's best earnings; US-China trade war continues

Sigma's billionaire director cashes in. Star shares down after roller-coaster start. Zip top gainer. BOQ lifts on profit beat. Asian markets red as Nvidia-led falls loom. China warns of US tariff pressures.

US President Donald Trump's changing tariff policies and trade war with China has equity markets on edge. Picture: Evan Vucci/AP

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Wednesday, April 16. The ASX 200 index closed flat, down marginally to 7758.90 points as falls in energy and tech falls weighed gains in bank stocks.

Wall Street's major indexes gave up earlier gains to close in the red. The S&P 500 ended 0.2 per cent lower, the Dow Jones index shed 0.4 per cent and the technology-focused Nasdaq dipped 0.1 per cent.

Cryptocurrency giant bitcoin was below $US84,000 at 5pm AEST.

The Aussie dollar was trading around US63.50c.

Originally published as ASX 200 live: Rio's weak March quarter; BOQ profit beat; Zip's best earnings; US-China trade war continues