The Australian sharemarket has plummeted in early trade after the United States and China ramped up their trade war over the weekend.
By 10.12am (AEST), the ASX 200 index had dropped 107 points, or 1.6 per cent, to 6417.
The Australian dollar also tumbled to its lowest value in more than a decade – briefly falling 0.7 per cent to 67.06 US cents before the local market opened.
However, the local currency has since lifted back to 67.16 US cents.
The latest shots in the trade war were fired when China announced it would impose new tariffs on $US75 billion worth of US products.
US President Donald Trump responded by announcing the US would raise its existing tariffs on US$250 billion worth of Chinese imports to 30 per cent – from the current 25 per cent – beginning on October 1.
At the same time, Mr Trump announced an increase in planned tariffs on the remaining US$300 billion worth of Chinese goods to 15 per cent – up from 10 per cent.
This sent major shockwaves on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones index shedding 623 points, or 2.3 per cent, on Friday (local time).
The other major indices suffered even bigger losses, with the S&P 500 losing 2.6 per cent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbling by 3 per cent.
-more to come
The post Billions wiped from ASX as US-China trade fears bite appeared first on The New Daily.
**Business and Marketing support on best price; Hit the link now----> http://bit.ly/2HsQmSi