The Australian sharemarket fell at the open after US President Donald Trump stepped up criticism of Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, sending Wall Street tumbling.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 50.7 points, a fall of 0.7 per cent, in the first 20 minutes of trading. The All Ordinaries retreated 0.7 per cent. All 11 sectors were in the red with technology posting the largest losses.
Risk-off sentiment on Wall Street spilled onto the ASX after all three US equity indexes, bonds and the US dollar plunged on Monday. The S&P 500 Index closed down 2.4 per cent as Tesla plunged ahead of delivering a much-anticipated earnings report.
Gold shot above $US3400 an ounce, notching a fresh record as the US dollar plunged to its lowest level since 2023 against a basket of prominent currencies, an outsized move that drove the Australian dollar above US64. Commodities were not spared with oil plunging 2 per cent.
In a post on social media, Trump claimed there was "virtually no inflation" in the US, pointing to lower food and energy prices, and called for "lower interest rates now" before calling Powell a "loser". His comments injected fresh uncertainty into the US financial markets amid fears the president is undermining the Fed.
On the ASX, technology and real estate stocks tracked major losses on Wall Street, dragged lower by data centre play Goodman Group, which shed 2.8 per cent. Scentre was off 1.2 per cent and Charter Hall fell 1.9 per cent. Among technology stocks, software giant WiseTech retreated 2.7 per cent.
Oil stocks tracked an overnight fall in global benchmark Brent, bucking a partial recovery in prices on Tuesday. Woodside retreated 1.9 per cent and petrol producer Ampol shed 1.3 per cent.
Deep Yellow posted the largest loss, sinking 8 per cent after delaying work on its flagship Namibian mine owing to lacklustre uranium market prices.
Stocks on the move
In corporate news, Macquarie edged up 0.4 per cent after announcing the sale of its entire North American and European public asset management business to Japan's Nomura for $2.8 billion. The division oversees $285 billion in assets.
Yancoal edged down 1.4 per cent after warning of an uncertain outlook for coal miners owing to global trade tensions. The index heavyweight reported a 19 per cent fall in quarterly attributable coal sales, owing to falling demand and a focus on rebuilding stockpiles.
AMP rose 1.3 per cent after Citi upgraded the bank and super provider to buy. Analysts said the stock was attractive at current valuations and argued "a lot is priced in" to the price.

Sumber : AFR