Australia

The Australian sharemarket is poised to open down despite an oil price jump and gains in US energy, technology and consumer discretionary stocks.

At 8.30am (AEST) the Australian futures index was down 16 points at 6136. The Australian dollar has fallen to 73.92 US cents.

Crude futures have jumped more than two 2 per cent and US oil has topped $US70 for the first time in two months as Washington pushes allies to halt imports of Iranian crude, which would constrain global supplies.

Falls across the energy, resource and health care sectors pushed the Australian share market into the red yesterday, amid increasing fears of a global trade war.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 0.21 per cent at 6197.6 while the broader All Ordinaries was down 0.26 per cent at 6292.1 points, following big falls on global markets.

Asia

In Asia, Japanese shares recovered after slumping to 3-1/2-week lows on Tuesday, as recently battered stocks rose on short-covering, despite worries about global trade tensions.

The Nikkei clawed its way back to end flat at 22,342.00, after falling 1 per cent in early trade to 22,104.12, the lowest level since June 1.

Banks and shippers rose, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gaining 1.0 per cent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 0.9 per cent.

Hong Kong stocks fell slightly, closing at a fresh six-month low, as sentiment remained subdued by fears of a Sino-US trade war.

The Hang Seng index fell 0.3 per cent, to 28,881.40, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.8 per cent, to 11,118.89 points.

China joined the global sell-off, with its share markets falling as escalating trade friction between the US and other major economies steered investors away from riskier assets.
The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.8 per cent to 3531.11 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.5 per cent to 2844.51 points.

Europe

Commodities helped UK shares make progress in recouping losses from the previous session when fears of a full-blown trade war between the US and the rest of the world led them to their worst performance since February.

Following a slow start, the FTSE 100 accelerated gains and ended the session up 0.4 per cent at 7537.92 points after a 2.2 per cent loss on Monday.

It was a choppy session for European shares on Tuesday, which initially saw a modest bounce after trade tensions triggered losses the previous day, but ran out of steam to close flat.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was unchanged in percentage terms and remained at its lowest level since mid-April following Monday's 2 per cent slide.

Germany's exporter-heavy DAX, which has been the most sensitive to trade tensions, gave up gains to end 0.3 per cent lower.

Concerns over trade have gripped global markets over the past weeks, wiping $US1.5 trillion off the MSCI All-Country World since June 12.

Trade disputes and slower economic growth have hit European stocks hard, with the STOXX 600 down 3 per cent year-to-date and euro zone stocks down 2.8 per cent.

North America

US stocks have found their footing, helped by gains in the energy, technology and consumer discretionary sectors after a sharp sell-off a day earlier on spiralling global trade tensions.

Energy stocks added the most gains among the S&P 500's 11 major sectors, climbing 1.4 per cent as Washington pushed allies to halt imports of Iranian crude, which lifted oil prices more than 2 per cent.

Technology stocks advanced after having slid on Monday upon conflicting statements from Trump administration officials on restrictions on foreign investment in US technology firms. Apple, which rose 1.2 per cent, snapped a three-day losing streak.

A Bloomberg report that Canada is preparing steel quotas and tariffs on China also may have eased investor worries by lending support to US President Donald Trump's negotiating tactics.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.12 per cent, to 24,283.11, the S&P 500 gained 0.22 per cent, to 2723.06 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.39 per cent, to 7561.63.

 

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Morningstar with AAP

Lex Hall is a Morningstar content editor, based in Sydney.

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