Australian shares are expected to open lower on Friday as they follow the example set in New York where a high-level feud offset positive trade news.
Futures trading has flagged a weaker start on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) with the S&P/ASX 200 June share price index contract sitting 13 points lower at 8,540 at the time of writing.
A breakdown in the relationship between U.S. President Donald Trump and his billionaire former adviser Elon Musk sent shares in electric vehicle maker (EV) Tesla plunging on Thursday (Friday AEST), undermining the indices of which it is part.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) slumped $47.37 or 14.27% to $284.68 in heavy trading as the public disagreement between its CEO Musk and Trump escalated, affecting the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite.
This overshadowed news of a positive phone call between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping about trade and came as investors considered signs of economic weakness in U.S. jobs data and the prospects for more interest rate cuts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 108 points or 0.25% to finish at 42,319.76, the S&P 500 declined 31.53 points or 0.5%, to 5,939.29, while the Nasdaq shed 162.04 points or 0.8% to close at 19,298.45.
The Australian sharemarket hit new highs on Thursday before easing back, with the S&P/ASX 200 ending 2.9 points down at 8,538.90 as seven industry sectors finished in the red.
Investors can expect energy and gold stocks to respond today to oil price rises and gold prices fall overnight.
In the fixed interest markets, the Australian Government yield curve continues to steepen as 10-year rates rose by 0.12% to 4.278% and two-year rates dropped by 0.03% to 3.329%.
