Trump has announced 10% tariffs on several European countries and threatened to raise the taxes to 25% June unless the European Union agrees to his deal for the “purchase of Greenland”.
The Australian sharemarket fell on Monday, weighed down by a sell-off in technology stocks, as investors flocked to safe-haven assets after US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose hefty tariffs on several European nations over Greenland.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index finished down 29.2 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 8874.70, with eight of the 11 sectors weaker. While Wall Street is closed for the Martin Luther King Jr holiday on Monday, US futures have fallen well into the red and bitcoin has tumbled below $US92,000.
That’s after Trump announced 10 per cent tariffs on several European countries and threatened to raise the taxes to 25 per cent in June unless the European Union agrees to his deal for the “purchase of Greenland”.
Trump jitters
Fears of a trade war between the world’s largest economy and Europe sent gold to a record high of $US4690.59 an ounce, while silver touched a high of $US94.12 after profit taking last week.
“Sadly, Trump still seems intent on throwing around tariff threats on the slightest whim,” said Betashares chief economist David Bassanese.
“Markets are watching and waiting to see if the US Supreme Court allows him to keep wielding his tariff weapon with abandon.”
