ASX 200 tumbles after Donald Trump's attack on Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell sends Wall Street plummeting
Medical tech company Mesoblast sank 4.2 per cent, while uranium miners Deep Yellow (down 5.5 per cent) and Paladin Energy (down about 5.5 per cent) have dropped since the market opened on Tuesday.
The tech and energy sectors are down about two per cent while real estate has dropped more than 1.5 per cent.
The ASX 200 has recovered some losses since opening and hovers about half a per cent lower than its closing price on Thursday afternoon.
Wall Street tumbled on Monday after Trump lashed the Federal Reserve chairman, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, in a scathing social media post where the US President demanded an interest rate cut.
Trump labelled Mr Powell a 'major loser' and claimed there was 'virtually no inflation' and that energy and food prices were 'trending down'.
'With these costs trending so nicely downward, just what I predicted they would do, there can almost be no inflation, but there can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW,' Trump wrote on Truth Social.
'Europe has already 'lowered' seven times.
'Powell has always been 'Too Late,' except when it came to the Election period when he lowered in order to help Sleepy Joe Biden, later Kamala, get elected. How did that work out?'
The US President's attack is just one of many against the Federal Reserve chairman and follows a White House executive saying Trump was looking into whether he could fire Mr Powell.
Markets fell after the post went live with the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropping about 2.5 per cent, the S&P 500 fall 2.4 per cent and the NYSE sinking 1.8 per cent by the end of the day.
Gold has surged to a new record high as investors turn to the valuable commodity amid fears the trade war between China and the US will continue to escalate.
Sky News Business Reporter Ed Boyd said this was a boon for gold stocks with West African Resources up almost four per cent, Regis Resources rising more than two per cent and Westgold Resources jumping 2.5 per cent on Tuesday.
'We've never seen the price of gold as high as it is right now,' Boyd said.
'Investors are flocking to gold over the past year.'
Gold is up more than 40 per cent over the past 12 months and has now surpassed US$3400.
New Zealand's NZX 50 Index is down about 0.9 per cent as Japan's Nikkei 225 is down about 0.3 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI 200 opened relatively flat on Tuesday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
35 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Top European general warns Albanese government over defence spending in face of China threat
A top military general in Europe has warned the Albanese government it needs to raise its defence capability in the face of ever-growing threats in the Pacific. Dutch General Onno Eichelsheim, visiting Australia for the annual Talisman Sabre war games hosted by the Australian Defence Force, said Australia needs to 'seriously' prepare for war. The Netherlands was among the swathe of NATO nations that recently lifted their military spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP. The Dutch defence chief said the Netherlands had responded to Russia's increased aggression in Europe and that countries in the Indo-Pacific must be wary of China as well. 'You should look at the facts that are around you … if Russia tells us that they want to have more influence, than take that seriously,' he said. 'And if you see in this case in this region - China building up - take it seriously and get ready for something that you hope will never happen. 'But if you prepare for war, you can avoid war and that's how we look at it.' General Eichelsheim said it was 'not about the percentage' but about the 'capabilities', a notion the Albanese government has openly expressed. However, the Dutch general insisted Australia needed to lift its capabilities and spending to ensure it could defend itself from a threat. Australia's defence budget has been forecast to reach only 2.33 per cent of GDP by 2033, which has frustrated the Trump administration. The Trump administration has been publicly frustrated by the Albanese government's resistance to increasing defence spending to 3.5 per cent requested by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Big four banks drag the ASX to worst day since April
Australia's sharemarket had its sharpest one-day fall since the fallout from Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' fallout smashed markets in early April, as investors sold down their big four bank shares ahead of company results. The benchmark ASX 200 slumped 89 points or 1.02 per cent to 8,668.20. The massive falls came just a single trading day after the benchmark had its best gains since the mid April recovery. Even with the large falls during Monday's trading, the ASX 200 still had its second highest ever close. The broader All Ordinaries also fell 80.60 points or 0.89 per cent to 8,926.20. The local dollar eked out a small gain and was buying 65.13 US cents at the time of writing. Banks, consumer discretionary and property stocks led the declines with the market heavy financials slumping 2.51 per cent. Westpac was the hardest hit of the big four banks down 3.61 per cent to $33.07, while CBA slumped 2.52 per cent to $177.87, ANZ sank 2.50 per cent to $30.05 and NAB slid 2.40 per cent to $38.25. Consumer discretionary stocks also slumped during Monday's trading. Wesfarmers fell 0.97 per cent to $83.75, JB Hi Fi dropped 1.48 per cent to $105.91 and Eagers Automotive slumped 3.58 per cent to $18.88. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said Monday's sharp fall is the largest since the Liberation Day sell-off in early April and is almost twice the size ASX futures predicted when they closed 49 points lower on Saturday morning. 'In the absence of any fresh news, today's pullback is possibly related to profit taking ahead of the August earnings season which will likely highlight stretched valuations with certain sectors, particularly the banks,' he said. Meanwhile the major iron ore miners were one of the bright spots on the market, after the price of the underlying commodity continued its march higher. Iron ore futures rose 1.2 per cent to $US99.50 a tonne. Shares in BHP rose 0.42 per cent to $40.46, Rio Tinto gained 1.19 per cent to $114.46 while Fortescue climbed 1.47 per cent to $17.25. In company news, AMP shares jumped 9.77 per cent to $1.68 after announcing its latest results. According to its latest statement AMP's superannuation division posted its first net inflow since 2017, along with growth in its platform and rising assets under management. Shares in Afterpay's parent company Block soared 11.18 per cent to $122 after cracking the US S & P 500. Block will replace Hess Corp after it was acquired by Chevron. Australian home builder AV Jennings is up 1.50 per cent to $0.68 after it announced a fully franked special dividend of 16.7 cents per share on the condition it can be acquired by American real estate firm Proprium Capital Partners. Shares in Cromwell Property Group jumped 8.22 per cent to $0.40, after announcing Brookfield has signed a binding sales and purchase agreement which is subject to the Foreign Investment Review Board approval. Investsmart Group shares also soared 9.09 per cent to $0.12 per cent after the business announced a jump in total funds under management and strong performance fees revenue.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
ASX falls to worst day since April
Australia's sharemarket had its sharpest one-day fall since the fallout from Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' fallout smashed markets in early April, as investors sold down their big four bank shares ahead of company results. The benchmark ASX 200 slumped 89 points or 1.02 per cent to 8,668.20. The massive falls came just a single trading day after the benchmark had its best gains since the mid April recovery. Even with the large falls during Monday's trading, the ASX 200 still had its second highest ever close. The broader All Ordinaries also fell 80.60 points or 0.89 per cent to 8,926.20. The local dollar eked out a small gain and was buying 65.13 US cents at the time of writing. ASX slumps to its worst day since the post Trump Liberation Day falls. Photo: Gaye Gerard / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Banks, consumer discretionary and property stocks led the declines with the market heavy financials slumping 2.51 per cent. Westpac was the hardest hit of the big four banks down 3.61 per cent to $33.07, while CBA slumped 2.52 per cent to $177.87, ANZ sank 2.50 per cent to $30.05 and NAB slid 2.40 per cent to $38.25. Consumer discretionary stocks also slumped during Monday's trading. Wesfarmers fell 0.97 per cent to $83.75, JB Hi Fi dropped 1.48 per cent to $105.91 and Eagers Automotive slumped 3.58 per cent to $18.88. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said Monday's sharp fall is the largest since the Liberation Day sell-off in early April and is almost twice the size ASX futures predicted when they closed 49 points lower on Saturday morning. 'In the absence of any fresh news, today's pullback is possibly related to profit taking ahead of the August earnings season which will likely highlight stretched valuations with certain sectors, particularly the banks,' he said. Meanwhile the major iron ore miners were one of the bright spots on the market, after the price of the underlying commodity continued its march higher. Iron ore futures rose 1.2 per cent to $US99.50 a tonne. The major miners were the rare bright spot on a sea of green. NewsWire / Jeremy Piper Credit: News Corp Australia Shares in BHP rose 0.42 per cent to $40.46, Rio Tinto gained 1.19 per cent to $114.46 while Fortescue climbed 1.47 per cent to $17.25. In company news, AMP shares jumped 9.77 per cent to $1.68 after announcing its latest results. According to its latest statement AMP's superannuation division posted its first net inflow since 2017, along with growth in its platform and rising assets under management. Shares in Afterpay's parent company Block soared 11.18 per cent to $122 after cracking the US S & P 500. Block will replace Hess Corp after it was acquired by Chevron. Australian home builder AV Jennings is up 1.50 per cent to $0.68 after it announced a fully franked special dividend of 16.7 cents per share on the condition it can be acquired by American real estate firm Proprium Capital Partners. Shares in Cromwell Property Group jumped 8.22 per cent to $0.40, after announcing Brookfield has signed a binding sales and purchase agreement which is subject to the Foreign Investment Review Board approval. Investsmart Group shares also soared 9.09 per cent to $0.12 per cent after the business announced a jump in total funds under management and strong performance fees revenue.
