Wall Street finished lower on Friday, pulling back after the S&P 500 posted a fresh record high just a day earlier. The downturn came as investors digested President Donald Trump’s escalating trade threats, including a new 35% tariff on Canadian goods and the prospect of broader tariff hikes on global trading partners.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 279 points, or 0.6%, to close at 44,371.51. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% to 6,259.75, while the Nasdaq lost 0.2% to finish at 20,585.53. All three major indexes ended the week in the red—down 1% for the Dow, 0.3% for the S&P, and 0.1% for the Nasdaq.
ASX cushioned by iron ore surge
While Wall Street slipped, Australia’s sharemarket has found some resilience. A surprise rebound in iron ore prices is fuelling a rotation from banks into miners. Futures indicate the ASX will open 13 points lower, still just 1% below its June record.
Iron ore in Singapore jumped 4% last week to US$99.50 a tonne, its best run since January. The rally follows speculation about a high-level urban planning meeting in China—evoking comparisons to a 2015 infrastructure stimulus.
Shares in BHP are up 10.4% over the past three weeks, Rio Tinto 9.1%, and Fortescue 16.8%. In contrast, Commonwealth Bank is down 2.6% over the same period.
Commodities and currencies
Brent crude is trading near US$70 a barrel, and gold futures climbed to US$3,364 an ounce. Bitcoin is hovering around US$118,900. The Australian dollar is steady at 65.6 US cents. US 10-year Treasury yields ended the week near 4.42%.
