Global Market Report - 10 September
Australian shares look set to open lower on the back of a poor end to the week on Wall Street as US President Donald Trump raised the possibility of additional tariffs on Chinese imports.
Australia
Australian shares look set to open lower on the back of a poor end to the week on Wall Street as US President Donald Trump raised the possibility of additional tariffs on Chinese imports.
In futures trading, the SPI200 futures contract was down 23 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 6108 points in latest trade. The Australian dollar is buying 71.04 US cents, from 71.52 US cents on Friday.
On Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended last week down 79.33 points, or 0.31 per cent at 25,916 points, while the S&P500 was down 6.37 points or 0.22 per cent at 2871 points.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ index was down 20.18 points or 0.25 per cent at 7902 points.
Out today: RBA assistant governor Michelle Bullock speaks on the evolution of household sector risks.
The NAB Business Survey for August is out on Tuesday, then Westpac-MI Consumer Sentiment on Wednesday and the Labour Force release on Thursday.
Asia
The Nikkei extended its decline to a sixth straight session on Friday, dropping to a 2-1/2-week low as investors sold chip equipment makers and fretted over reports that Donald Trump could be contemplating taking on Japan over trade.
The benchmark share average dropped 0.8 per cent to 22,307.06, its lowest closing level since August 21. The index was down for the sixth day running, its longest losing streak since late January.
The broader Topix declined 0.5 per cent to a more than three-week low of 1684.31 to post a seventh consecutive day of declines.
Hong Kong shares finished flat on Friday, after touching their lowest levels since July last year. The Hang Seng index ended down just 1.35 points at 26,973.47, while the China Enterprises Index closed 0.2 per cent lower at 10,559.54 points.
China's main Shanghai Composite index closed up 0.4 per cent at 2691.59 points, while its blue-chip CSI300 index ended 0.5 per cent higher.
Europe
European shares steadied on Friday but suffered their worst week since end March as uncertainty over global trade rippled through markets and investors dumped riskier sectors.
The pan-European STOXX 600 benchmark was 0.08 per cent higher at the close, recovering from a fresh five-month low hit earlier in the session, while the exporter-heavy German DAX index also ended little changed.
The STOXX ended off earlier lows after White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow told CNBC that the US continued to talk with China about a number of trade issues but added that so far China has not met US requests.
The STOXX however fell 2.2 per cent on the week, its worst performance since the end of March, with investors' appetite for risk dented by worries the trade dispute between the US and China could escalate as well as weakness in emerging markets.
North America
US stocks were lower for most of Friday's session but dipped further in the last half-hour of trading on reports that Apple products, including the Apple Watch and AirPods, would be slapped with duties. Apple shares, which had been in positive territory for most of the session, ended 0.8 per cent lower.
The company provided those details in response to the White House's proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. A comment period for those tariffs ended on Thursday night.
Earlier on Friday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Trump would not make any decisions on those tariffs until officials evaluated public comments.
US stocks had already been pressured after Trump said he had tariffs ready to impose on an additional $US267 billion ($376 billion) worth of Chinese imports, on top of the proposed $US200 billion.
The escalated trade rhetoric contributed to anxiety among investors regarding the market's outlook.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.33 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 25,916.54, the S&P 500 lost 6.37 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 2871.68 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 20.19 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 7902.54.
For the week, the Dow lost 0.19 per cent, the S&P fell 1.03 per cent, and the Nasdaq shed 2.55 per cent. The Nasdaq registered its greatest weekly percentage decline since late March, while the S&P's weekly percentage drop was its biggest since late June.
Tesla shares slid 6.3 per cent following reports of two executives leaving the company and on mounting investor concerns about chief executive Elon Musk's behaviour after he smoked marijuana on a live web show.
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Lex Hall is content editor, Morningstar Australia
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