The Australian sharemarket tumbled to its lowest level since September 9 on Friday, as shifting U.S. tariff policies unsettled investors.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 146.5 points or 1.8% to 7,948.2, marking its second-largest weekly drop this year.
The A-VIX volatility index also spiked to a four-month high, reflecting increased investor uncertainty.
Ten of 11 ASX sectors were lower, with real estate stocks leading the decline.
Goodman Group slumped 4.8% to its lowest price in 11 months, Charter Hall shed 3.4% and Stockland dipped 2.2%.
Technology companies also languished, as Block finished 1.9% lower, Megaport fell 2.3%, Computershare lost 2.4%, and Xero dropped 3.5%. WiseTech slid 3.2%,
The ASX financial sector continued its downturn, with Commonwealth Bank falling 3.3%. Westpac declined 2.2% after the resignation of retail banking chief Jason Yetton, marking the third executive departure since September.
Among individual companies, Star Entertainment has reportedly reached an agreement to offload its 50% interest in the new Star Brisbane complex to Hong Kong's Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium.
Meanwhile, a bidding war for Insignia Financial is intensifying after private equity firms Bain Capital and CC Capital raised their takeover bid to $5 per share. The stock closed 9.9% higher following the revised offer.
On the bond market, yields declined, with the 10-year bond yield down 0.3% to 4.409%, while the 2-year yield dropped 0.4% to 3.781%.
