Nearly $50b wiped off ASX as Trump tariffs take full effect (2025)

• ASX 200: -1.8% to 7,375 points
• Australian dollar:+0.4% at 59.76 US cents
• Nikkei: -4% to 31,688 points
• Hang Seng: -0.5% to 20,026 points
• Shanghai: +1% to 3,177 points
• S&P 500:-1.6% to 4,983 points
• Nasdaq:-2.2% at 15,268 points
• FTSE:+2.7% to 7,911 points
• EuroStoxx:+2.7% to 487 points
• Spot gold:+1.3 to $US3,022/ounce
• Brent crude: -3% to $US60.93/barrel
• Iron ore:-1.2% to $US96.30/ tonne
• Bitcoin:+0.1% to $US77,084

Prices current at 4:15pm AEST

Live updates on the major ASX indices:

It's goodbye from us here at the markets blog, on this busy trading day as we saw the start of the latest US import tariffs.

Tune in toThe Businesson ABC News Channel at 8.45pm AEST for more news and analysis.

The blog will be back again tomorrow morning.

Thanks for all your comments and questions.

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A report just in from Reuters:

China's top leaders plan to convene a meeting as early as Wednesday to discuss measures to boost the economy and stabilise the capital markets, people with knowledge of the matter said, amid an escalating trade war with the US.

The meeting comes as US duties on Chinese imports nearly doubled to 104% on Wednesday and is the first such publicly known high-level gathering since US President Donald Trump announced "reciprocal" tariffs on China last week.

Senior officials from the State Council, several government and regulatory bodies were expected to attend the meeting, said the two sources, declining to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The policymakers were expected to discuss measures to boost domestic consumption and support capital markets, said the sources. One of them added that initiatives such as export tax rebates were also likely to be discussed.

The State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of the Chinese  government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump's punishing tariffs have shaken a global trading order that has persisted for decades, raising fears of recession and driving worldwide stocks sharply downward.

While Beijing announced counter-tariffs on the US last week and has vowed to fight what it views as blackmail, analysts say it is feeling cornered by Trump's tariff assault on China and any country that buys or assembles Chinese goods.

Top officials from government bodies, including the central bank People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF), were likely to attend the meeting, the sources said.

Officials from the Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) as well as banking regulator National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) and securities regulator China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) were also expected to be present, said the first source.

The PBOC, MOF, MofCom, NFRA and CSRC also did not immediately comment.

Some of the measures to stimulate the world's second-largest economy could be implemented in the coming weeks, the second source said.

Chinese state media is expected to report part of the meeting's agenda as authorities aim to stabilise the economy and markets as well as restoring confidence, said the sources.

The escalating trade war between China and the US comes as the Chinese economy has been weighed down by a protracted property crisis and high local government debt levels, souring both business and consumer confidence.

China's policies this year fully account for various uncertainties, China's Premier Li Qiang said on Tuesday, adding that Beijing was "fully capable of hedging against adverse external influences".

Chinese stocks found some footing on Wednesday as state pledges to support the local market and surging interest in domestic tech firms softened the blow to sentiment from the latest tariff move.

Thanks for your comment Phillip.

Here's a look at the All Ords so far this year:

And here it is over the past 5 years:

As our chief business correspondent Ian Verrender wrote, it's not just the market moves themselves we are watching — but the potential flow on to the broader economy.

And the fact that the effects are being transmitted into people's everyday lives faster than ever:

Before Treasurer Jim Chalmers' meeting with Reserve Bank officials and financial regulators in Sydney this afternoon, he gave a quick doorstop before heading upstairs.

Here's some of the transcript:

There's a lot of uncertainty in the global economy, but Australia is well placed and well prepared to deal with it.

We are working closely with the regulators, and we are confident that we can weather these global conditions, but we're not complacent about that.

Today is a really good opportunity for us to confer with, compare notes with, and coordinate our efforts with the regulators and others involved in the market right now.

We are seeing a lot of volatility on private markets, but Australia's progress to date and our economic plan puts us in good stead to deal with it.

There is a lot of economic uncertainty right around the world, but Australia is better placed and better prepared than most to deal with it.

I’ll just say something briefly about the debate tonight and then one other matter, then I better get upstairs.

I'm looking forward to a debate with my counterpart tonight, Angus Taylor. I don't underestimate anyone. I expect it to be a respectful debate.

I take Angus more seriously than his own colleagues do. Frankly, I think it's unedifying the way that they line up to bag him in the paper. I will be respectful to him. I think it will be a good debate tonight and an important opportunity to lay out the choices.

The stock market ructions have even hit the gold price.

Gold rallied to record highs, above $3,000 an ounce, last week, after the US announced global tariffs and investors flocked to the 'safe-haven' commodity.

However, this week the gold price has lowered.

So, what's going on?

This article by business reporter Samuel Yang, explains what's happening:

Local shares have closed sharply lower again today.

The ASX200 has closed down -1.8 to 7,375 points (as at 4:15pm AEST).

The index has lost 7 per cent over the last five days.

The broader All Ordinaries index closed down -1.85 per cent to 7,561 points.

It follows a dramatic day on global markets, with US President Donald Trump's tariffs on imports coming into effect at 2pm AEST.

While Australian shares went slightly up on the news, they fell again significantly within the hour.

10 of 11 sectors finished in the red, with energy and mining stocks leading the losses.

The top performing companies were Healius and Bapcor.

While Nickel Industries, Champion Iron and Mineral Resources led the bottom movers.

The Aussie dollar is up +0.5 per cent, sitting at 59.85 US cents.

Australian shares have closed off their lows but still deep in the red as the Trump administration's tariffs took full effect.

The ASX 200 dropped 1.8 per cent, while the broader All Ords shed 1.9 per cent, or around $48 billion.

While US President Donald Trump was bragging that the nation was already making $US2 billion a day off the 10% universal global tariff introduced on April 5,Zenith Investment Partners head of asset allocation Damien Hennessy says that money will come from Americans' pockets, not the rest of the world.

"It's a $700 billion tax shock, equivalent to roughly 2.6% of US household income," he warns in a note today.

"Inflation is the first casualty, with core inflation expected to rise from 2.2% to above 4%, well beyond the US Federal Reserve's 2% target.

"Growth projections are equally sobering: US GDP could lose up to 1.5 percentage points, potentially dragging growth close to zero and flirting with recession."

Mr Hennessy says there's the potential for the share market downturn to end soon, but also the risk it gets much worse.

"Markets are currently pricing in a 50-60% probability of a US recession. In a more optimistic scenario—where recession odds fall to 20-25%—the S&P 500 could rebound toward 5,700, but this would require a catalyst such as a signal from the US Fed that rates were about to be cut or a rollback of tariff hikes — neither of which appear imminent," he notes.

"On the downside, historical averages suggest that share markets could fall another 10% in a typical recession scenario. That would take the S&P 500 down to around 4,600.

"Credit markets are key indicators here. So far, spreads have widened but are not yet at crisis levels. Should they deteriorate further, we expect the Fed to respond—either through rate cuts or through targeted credit market interventions."

As we head towards the end of the trading day, let's take a quick look around the world...

Japan's Nikkeiis down -4.28 per cent to 31,602.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down -1.92 per cent to 19,744.

While China's Shanghai Composite is slightly higher, up+0.2 per cent to 3,152.

And we can expect more falls when the rest of the world wakes up, if we look at futures markets:

• Nasdaq futures -2.6 %
• S&P 500 futures -2.66%
• Eurostoxx 50 futures -4.4%
• FTSE futures -3.3%
• DAX futures -4.5%

*These figures are accurate as at 3.55pm AEST

Stepping away from global markets for a minute now.

Let's take a look at what's going on between White House DOGE office affiliate Elon Musk and long-time trade adviser Peter Navarro.

In the days since Mr Trump announced sweeping tariffs, the pair have been locked in a public feud.

Navarro is credited with having influence over Trump's wide-ranging tariff plans.

While Mr Musk has posted online about the virtues of free trade.

You can read more about the feud here:

Since the start of the year, the US dollar index has fallen from 109.4 to 102.4 — that's about a 6.4% fall.

The US dollar index measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies and, compared to them, its down quite a bit.

It's just that, being a relatively small, trade-exposed economy whose currency is seen as something of a global economic risk barometer, the poor old Aussie dollar has been whacked harder still.

For example, so far this year, we're off 12% against a buoyant Japanese yen, nearly 10% against the euro and more than 6% against the British pound.

The traders were not happy after their lunch break.

Tokyo's Nikkei has fallen as much as 5 per cent in a broad sell off.

The index is currently down -4.76 per cent to 31,446 (at 2:55pm AEST).

As previously reported, it's all because of the introduction of US tariffs this afternoon (of particular worry is the 104 per cent tariff on China).

Japan is facing tariffs of 24 per cent on its exports to the US.

The Japanese yen is considered a 'safe-haven' currency, with the US dollar falling 1 per cent, to 144.73 yen.

It's an interesting scheduling clash.

On the same day that Donald Trump's tariffs have kicked in (which, according to some economists, has spelled the end of the 'Washington Consensus' and hastened the breakdown of the post-war international order of trade liberalisation and cooperation), the Reserve Bank of Australia has published new archival records.

The records focus on the Bank’s interactions with international organisations in the post-war period, and the management of foreign currencies and exchange.

The historical documents relate to the creation of the IMF, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the OECD, and the Asian Development Bank, among others.

And the RBA reminds us why some of those organisations were created for the post-war period:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established at the Bretton Woods conference held on 1July1944.

The conference aimed to create the framework for international economic cooperation and financial stability in the post-Second World War reconstruction period and, in addition to the IMF, also established the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

Australia was not one of the 29members of the IMF when the agreement was ratified in 1945. There was strong opposition to the IMF in the Australian Cabinet because it was believed that American domination in the IMF could disadvantage countries like Australia in international agreements. It was not until 1947 that prime minister Ben Chifley was able to pass the International Monetary Agreements Bill through parliament. Australia was formally admitted to membership of the Fund in August1947 on the same terms as the original members

The objectives of the IMF as laid out in the original agreement are to promote international monetary cooperation, facilitate the expansion and growth of international trade, promote exchange stability, to assist in the establishment of a multilateral system of payments in respect of current transactions between members, to make the Fund’s resources available to members under adequate safeguards, and to shorten the duration and lessen the degree of disequilibrium in the international balances of payments of members (International Monetary Agreements Act1947).

Australian shares have fallen again, down more than -2 per cent.

The ASX200 is down -2.04 per cent to 7,357 points, while the All Ordinaries is down -2.08 per cent to 7,543 points (as at 2.42pm AEST).

Shares had improved slightly on news the US tariffs had come into effect.

In the past 30 minutes, they have dropped again sharply.

The Aussie dollar is slightly up, buying 59.63 US cents.

The equity market attracts a lot of eyeballs, but there's also been asell-off in bond markets, with yields on the rise as there's a move out of US government bonds.

Here's ourchief business correspondent Ian Verrenderwith his take:

While all eyes are glued to global stock markets, there's some disturbing trends starting to show elsewhere.

Usually, whenever there is any turmoil coursing through the global economy, investors dump risky assetsand set sail for the safest investment harbour on the planet.

For 80 years, they've piled intoUS government debtand particularly 10-year bonds, the benchmark for global interest rates and the instrument that carries what normally is regarded as the "risk free" rate.

Not so this time.

Normally, US government bonds would be in such huge demand that the yield, or interest rate,would drop.

Instead, it's moving the other way.

Shortly after America's 104 per cent tariff on China came into force, the yield on the 30-year US government bond headed the wrong way, rising a not-insignificant 25 basis points to 5.01 per cent, the highest since late 2023.

The 10-year Treasury yield climbed 21 bps to 4.503 per cent.

That's beenaccompanied by a drop in the greenback too, indicating global money is moving elsewhere, such as Europe.

It would appear trust in America and its ability to lead the globe is now being questioned.

Thatcould have serious implications for the US and its role as the global reserve currencywhich, for decades, has shielded the economy from its burgeoning deficits and debts.

The fear, particularly for those on Wall Street, is how far this continues before something breaks, potentially escalating this affair into a full blown credit crisis.

Thanks Phillip.

My fault, should be rectified now!

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Leading into the moment the Trump administration's latest round of 'reciprocal' tariffs taking effect, US futures were down around 1.6 per cent — those losses have deepened in the last few minutes:

• S&P futures -1.9%
• Nasdaq futures -1.7%
• Dow futures -1.7%

Taking a look at Asian markets, most major indices are holding their losses — although the Shanghai Composite is modestly higher:

• Tokyo's Nikkei 225 -3.6%
• Shanghai Composite +0.2%
• Shenzhen component +0.6%
• Seoul's Kospi 200 -1.6%
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng -1.6%

Market snapshot:

• ASX 200: -1.82% to 7,373 points
• All Ords:-1.88% to 7,559 points
• Australian dollar: Flatat 59.55 US cents
• S&P 500:-1.6% to 4,983 points
• Nasdaq:-2.2% at 15,268 points
• FTSE:+2.7% to 7,911 points
• EuroStoxx:+2.7% to 487 points
• Spot gold:+0.8 to $US3,007/ounce
• Brent crude: -3.7% to $US60.47/barrel
• Iron ore:-0.8% to $US96.65/ tonne
• Bitcoin:-1.9% to $US75,601

Prices current at 2:12pm AEST

Live updates on the major ASX indices: