ASX loses more than $40b as investors brace for ‘Liberation Day’

Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day.

The numbers

More than $40 billion was wiped from the value of the Australian sharemarket on Monday, with heavy losses from the banks and mining giants as Donald Trump’s vow to provide more details on his tariff plans later this week looms on the horizon.

The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped by 138.6 points, or 1.7 per cent, to 7843.4 points at the close of trade, following heavy falls on Wall Street last week. All the 11 industry sectors retreated, with losses led by miners and energy.

The plunge means the ASX 200 has lost more than 4 per cent since the start of this year, and it comes as investors worry about what Trump trade policies may announce on April 2 US time (April 3 AEDT) – a day he has dubbed “Liberation Day.”

Qantas has announced that Todd Sampson will stand down from the airline’s board.Credit: Joe Armao

The lifters

Internet services provider TPG Telecom was one of the few companies that finished the day in positive territory, closing up by 0.4 per cent. Embattled tech company WiseTech Global also finished up by 1.5 per cent after bouncing back in the afternoon.

Among those trading in the green at lunchtime were A2 Milk and Sigma Healthcare, but both of these companies slipped into the red by the time the markets closed.

The laggards

The materials sector slumped, with the sharemarket’s largest company, BHP, sinking by 3.8 per cent. Fortescue (down 4 per cent) and Rio Tinto (down 4.8 per cent) also dropped, signalling the hesitation of investors to take risks amid a highly uncertain backdrop for the global economy.

Losses continued across the IT sector, with software companies Xero (down 0.7 per cent) and TechnologyOne (down 2.4 per cent) both falling.

The banks struggled, with ANZ (down 1.9 per cent), Westpac (down 1 per cent) and NAB (down 0.4 per cent) all dragging the ASX lower. But Commonwealth Bank was able to reel in losses from earlier in the day, with the nation’s largest lender up by 0.3 per cent and one of the few bright spots in the financials sector.

ANZ on Monday morning announced Nuno Matos will take over the reins as chief executive of the blue bank on May 11 – almost two months earlier than previously flagged. The former HSBC banker will start in the role three days after Shayne Elliott hands down the bank’s half-year results on May 8.

Qantas announced on Monday that Todd Sampson will stand down from the board on July 31. Former HP chief executive Dion Weisler has been appointed to the board, effective immediately. Qantas shares shed 3.6 per cent.

The lowdown

Jun Bei Liu, founder and portfolio manager at Ten Cap, highlighted investor worries about the impact of US tariffs, which have dragged down markets across the region.

“The investors are really worried about the April starting date for all the [US] tariffs. Worried about what more there might be. And you just see people taking profit off all the winners over the last 12 months … the growth companies, the tech companies,” she said.

Wall Street closed its week with another tumble.Credit: Reuters

“We should expect to see that kind of volatility here to stay until we get clarity with what is to come with the tariffs,” she said.

The ASX’s slump comes after the Reserve Bank and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission issued a public rebuke of the market operator and took action over technology failings.

The regulators published a joint letter to the ASIC, after a settlement outage in December due to problems with one of its core technology systems, known as CHESS.

The RBA has now downgraded the ASX’s compliance with the central bank’s financial stability standards, in a sign the RBA has identified serious issues “that warrant immediate action.” ASIC also directed the ASX to engage an expert to carry out a technical review of the CHESS system.

RBA governor Michele Bullock said: “It is deeply disappointing that the regulators need to take these actions today. But they are necessary. ASX operates critical infrastructure that plays a central role in the financial system.”

In the US, another wipeout walloped Wall Street on Friday. Worries are building about a potentially toxic mix of worsening inflation and a US economy slowing because of households afraid to spend due to the global trade war.

The S&P 500 dropped 2 per cent for one of its worst days in the last two years. It thudded to its fifth losing week in the last six after wiping out what had been a big gain to start the week.

The Dow Jones sank 715 points or 1.7 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite fell 2.7 per cent.

The heaviest weights on the market were Apple, Microsoft and other big tech stocks, whose massive sizes give their movements more sway over indexes. They and other stocks that were caught up in the frenzy around artificial intelligence technology have been among the hardest hit in Wall Street’s recent sell-off.

Tweet of the day

Quote of the day

“The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on Monday released a landmark report examining super funds’ handling of death benefit claims, just months after it launched litigation against two large industry funds for their alleged litany of failures.”

That’s Sumeyya Ilanbey on the Australians who are suffering because of super fund failures. You can read more of that piece here.

With AP

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