Donald Trump ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs spark wipeout in ASX200

US President Donald Trump’s barrage of tariffs on the world’s major economies pushed the Australian sharemarket into a sea of red on Thursday, as investors confronted the stark reality of an escalating breakdown in global trade.

The benchmark ASX200 tumbled 74.8 points, or 0.94 per cent, to close at 7859.7 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index slumped 80.4 points, or 0.99 per cent, to settle at 8,052.7.

The market recovered in afternoon trade to climb back from a morning low of 7768 points, but the sell-off still wiped out $21bn in value.

The US futures markets also tanked on President Trump’s “Liberation Day” shock, which delivered steeper tariffs than anticipated.

“Today’s announcement is close to a worst-case scenario and the odds of a US and global recession have clearly increased,” betashares chief economist David Bassanese said.

“Much will turn on whether today’s announcements represents the end of global trade uncertainty, or just the beginning.”

China now faces a combined tariff of 54 per cent, Mr Bassanese said, while the EU faces 20 per cent.

“Australia has gotten off relatively lightly, yet will still face the minimum 10 per cent tariff that all countries with low barriers to US exports will face,” he said.

“For Australia, the main impact of Trump’s new set of tariffs will be indirect, specifically the likely negative impact on global economic growth and that of China especially.”

Eight of 11 industry sectors ended in the red, led by IT with a sharp 2.87 per cent slump.

Wisetech Global fell 2.68 per cent to $81.74 a share, Xero tumbled 3.44 per cent to $150.42 and Nextdc lost 3.56 per cent to $11.38.

The energy and materials sectors declined 2.71 per cent and 2.01 per cent, respectively.

Woodside Energy fell 2.89 per cent to $22.48, Santos retreated 2.52 per cent to $6.57 and Beach Energy lost 2.79 per cent to $1.40.

Bourse heavyweight BHP shed 3.42 per cent to $37.01 and Rio Tinto fell 2.73 per cent to $111.94.

A bloodbath hit the coal and copper miners, with Whitehaven Coal crumbling 7.6 per cent to $4.86 and Coronado Global Resources losing 4.84 per cent to 30c.

Sandfire Resources fell 6 per cent to $9.55 and Capstone Copper tumbled 7.25 per cent to $7.68.

The big banks were mixed.

Commonwealth Bank booked a 1 per cent gain to $156.37, while ANZ lost 1.38 per cent to $29.25, Westpac edged down 0.5 per cent to $31.74 and NAB slid 1.21 per cent to $34.18.

One point of light in the day was the consumer staples sector, which lifted 1.27 per cent.

Retail giant Coles rose 2.11 per cent to $20.29 and Woolworths gained 1.9 per cent to $30.11.

eToro market analyst Josh Gilbert warned Australian investors should brace for months of ongoing volatility.

“While Australia’s direct trade exposure to the US is minimal, the knock-on effects via China and broader Asian nations that have seen hefty tariffs could weigh on our export-heavy economy, especially if global demand slows and commodity prices retreat,” he said.

“For a small, open economy like Australia, any slowdown in global growth would have an impact locally.

“The best investors can hope for is that countries play ball and this doesn’t spiral into a full-blown trade war.

“There will be a big focus on earnings guidance and central bank responses. If it wasn’t already clear, today’s sharp sell-off in risk assets and the rush to safe havens show investors should prepare for ongoing volatility in the months ahead.”

In corporate news, luxury fashion retailer Cettire collapsed 14.47 per cent to 68c after informing the market that the new US tariff regime would likely impact its European-made goods.

“The company advises that approximately 41 per cent of Cettire’s total gross sales in H1-FY25 related to goods manufactured in the EU and sold to customers located in the US,” the company said.

“Cettire is currently assessing the full implications of these tariff changes on the company and its global operations, noting that several major luxury brands have indicated they would see kto increase pricing of luxury goods in the US market to mitigate possible tariff changes.”

The Aussie dollar lost 0.01 per cent to buy US63c at the closing bell

The biggest loser on the benchmark ASX200 was Ansell, slumping 14.33 per cent to $29.34.

The top gainer was gold miner Ramelius Resources, lifting 5.2 per cent to $2.42.