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What's Affecting Markets Today
Asia-Pacific markets extended losses on Friday, mirroring Wall Street’s steep sell-off after former U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping reciprocal tariffs on over 180 countries and territories, intensifying fears of a global trade war.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.06%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.07% and the broader Topix dropped 2.69%. South Korea’s Kospi slid 1.03%, though the tech-heavy Kosdaq managed a modest 0.3% gain. The Korean Constitutional Court’s decision to uphold President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment triggered further political uncertainty, with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stepping in as acting president until elections are held within 60 days.
Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets were closed for the Qingming Festival.
U.S. futures remained under pressure, extending losses after the worst session for U.S. equities in five years. Dow futures dropped 100 points (0.3%), while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.2% each.
Overnight, the Dow plunged 1,679.39 points, or 3.98%, to 40,545.93. The S&P 500 tumbled 4.84% to 5,396.52, re-entering correction territory, while the Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.97%—its sharpest fall since March 2020.
ASX Stocks
ASX 200 - 7,684.3 (-2.20%)
The ASX 200 is on track for its worst weekly decline since September 2022, plunging 3.5% as global markets reacted sharply to sweeping US tariff hikes that have heightened fears of a global recession. On Friday, the index fell 2.2% or 172.5 points to 7687.2, with ten of eleven sectors in the red. Energy stocks led losses, slumping over 7%, after OPEC+ unexpectedly announced plans to significantly increase oil supply in May, sending Brent crude below $US70 a barrel.
Heavyweights Santos and Woodside each dropped more than 8%, while banks and tech stocks also sold off. Macquarie slid 4%, NextDC fell 8.6%, and Life360 shed 6.3%. In contrast, defensive consumer staples saw gains, with Woolworths and Coles rising over 2%.
The risk-off sentiment coincides with revised interest rate forecasts. HSBC, Barrenjoey, and ANZ now expect the RBA to cut rates as early as May, with the cash rate seen falling to 3.35% by year-end.
Breville fell 11.3% on tariff exposure, while Ansell rose 3.8% after pledging to offset higher import costs.
Leaders
CMM Capricorn Metals Ltd (+5.40%)
CEN Contact Energy Ltd (+5.24%)
MCY Mercury NZ Ltd (+4.27%)
COL Coles Group Ltd (+3.50%)
WOW Woolworths Group Ltd (+3.31%)
Laggards
AOV Amotiv Ltd (-15.93%)
ZIP ZIP Co Ltd (-11.41%)
KAR Karoon Energy Ltd (-11.09%)
BRG Breville Group Ltd (-11.08%)
HMC HMC Capital Ltd (-10.35%)
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