Australia Market edges up on buybacks

Headline indices of the Australia market were tad higher on Monday, 10 September 2018, as investors bought back issues deemed oversold following losses in last seven sessions. However, market gains were limited amid ongoing trade concerns after President Donald Trump suggested he might impose tariffs on another $267 billion worth of Chinese goods. ASX sectors were mixed, with shares of energy, healthcare, and information technology issues being notable gainers, while financials, materials, and telecom issues were notable losers. In late-afternoon trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 6.79 points, or 0.1%, at 6,150.60 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index advanced 6.96 points, or 0.11%, at 6,259.30 points.

President Mr. Donald Trump threatened China with another round of punishing tariffs on Friday, saying he was prepared to tax essentially all Chinese goods imported into the United States if Beijing did not change its trade practices. The threat comes as the administration prepares to move forward with another round of tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, including many everyday consumer products like electronics and housewares. The White House has already imposed tariffs on $50 billon worth of Chinese goods, and China has retaliated with a similar amount of tariffs on American products. Mr. Donald Trump hinted on Friday that the next round of tariffs was guaranteed unless China agreed to his demands to more freely open its markets to American companies.

 

US President Donald Trump on Friday signalled his intention to impose tariffs on additional $267 billion, in addition to the proposed 25% duty to be levied on $200 billion of Chinese goods. The US has already imposed additional tariffs of 25% on $50 billion of Chinese goods on 23 August under Section 301 on grounds of alleged theft of American intellectual property rights and forced transfer of technology from US companies by China. With additional tariffs on the proposed $200 billion Chinese goods, the total IPR (intellectual property rights)-related tariffs on Chinese goods will go up to $250 billion.

The US administration is currently struggling to finalize the list of Chinese goods of $200 billion that would be subjected with additional tariffs because of opposition from American businesses. Many US companies making bicycles to laptops and mobile phones, including Apple Inc., are seeking exemptions from the proposed tariffs on $200 billion Chinese goods, while cautioning that the tariffs will adversely hit America's economic interests.

Adding to the tensions, data out Friday showed China's trade surplus with the United States widened to a record in August, an outcome that could further inflame Sino-U.S. trade tensions. Trump, who is challenging China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union on trade issues, has now expressed displeasure about his country's large trade deficit with Japan.He said on Friday trade discussions with Japan has begun and added that India has also asked to start talks on a trade deal.

Also weighing on global shares was the prospect of faster rate rises by the Federal Reserve after data on Friday showed U.S. jobs growth accelerated in August and wages notched their largest annual increase in more than nine years.

Shares of materials and resources companies were down, despite steady iron ore pries as well as slightly higher copper prices, with BHP Billiton fell almost 1%, while Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto fell in a range of 1% to 2%.

Shares of energy sector were lower after crude oil prices extended losses for a third straight day on Friday. WTI crude for October delivery edged down $0.02 to settle at $67.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In energy space, Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search, and Santos fell in a range of 0.22% to 1%.

Shares of banks were also lower, with Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac were down in a range of 0.5% to 0.7%.

CURRENCY: Australian Dollar fell against greenback and other major currencies on Monday. The Aussie dollar was quoted at $0.7115, down from $0.7152 on Friday.

OFFSHORE MARKET NEWS, US stock market closed down on Friday, after Trump threatened tariffs on a further $267 billion worth of Chinese imports, on top of earlier promises to levy duties on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.33 points or 0.3% to 25,916.54, the Nasdaq dipped 20.18 points or 0.3% to 7,902.54 and the S&P 500 slipped 6.37 points or 0.2% to 2,871.68.

The major European stock markets ended mixed on Friday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.6%, while the German DAX Index closed marginally higher and the French CAC 40 Index edged up by 0.2%.

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