Market bloodbath as ASX loses $160 billion in minutes

The Australian Stock Exchange has lost $160 billion in its opening minutes today, as economic chaos rattles markets around the world.

The ASX 200 fell 6.4 per cent to a 16-month low of 7177.3 after the exchange opened at 10am AEST.

Mining companies and the big four banks were among the biggest drops, which came even after the ASX-200 opened at a 100-day low of 7453.90.

The Australian Financial Review earlier said more than $114 billion could be lost today, amid concerns the US could be headed for a recession.

On Friday, Australian shares closed with a $56.6 billion loss, the largest in eight months, following the Trump administration’s tariffs announcement last week.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 2.4 per cent, or by 191.9 points, to 7667.8 points at close.

Australia’s US exports, which are now subject to a broad 10 per cent tariff, only make up a small amount – about four per cent – of Australia’s export total.

But fears of an escalating US trade war with China, Australia’s largest trading partner, have hit the stock market hard.

China has retaliated after the White House imposed a 34 per cent tariff on imports last week, on top of an existing 20 per cent levy.

Beijing has now slapped its own 34 per cent tariff on goods arriving from the US.

Other nations and entities including US allies India, South Korea, and the European Union, have pledged to also take some kind of retaliatory action.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to keep US tariffs off the table but also has refused to budge on what US lobbyists have claimed are trade barriers.

These include Australia’s strict biosecurity laws, which by default limit the importation of US beef, and the cheaper medicines provided by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

The White House said overnight (Sunday local time) that more than 50 countries had made contact to begin negotiations over the tariffs, according to the Associated Press.