Australian shares tip lower as Donald Trump teases fresh tariffs

Australia’s share market has started the week lower, after President Donald Trump slapped new tariffs on several European countries as he tries to force the US takeover of Greenland.

The S&P/ASX200 fell 34.3 points by midday, down 0.39 per cent, to 8,869.6, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 37.1 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 9,189.6.

The shaky start came after President Trump announced tariffs on several European nations over the weekend, threatening even higher duties if Europe doesn’t give in to his ambitions to acquire Greenland for the United States, Capital.com market analyst Kyle Rodda said.

“US President Trump’s actions over the weekend have inflamed geopolitical risks while also reintroducing trade uncertainty,” Mr Rodda said.

“After a quiet session on Friday and a low volatility start to the year (at least for stocks), equities may experience some downside pressure – the reaction on Wall Street won’t be seen until tomorrow.”

Only three local sectors were trading higher by lunchtime, with utilities stocks up more than one per cent as materials and consumer staples eked a minor lift, the latter in-line with modest upticks in Coles and Woolworths.

ASX-listed tech stocks tumbled, down two per cent in a broad-based sell-off after a weak Nasdaq session on Friday.

NextDC bucked the trend with a 2.3 per cent boost after jumping a regulatory hurdle for a planned data centre in Port Melbourne.

The heavyweight financials sector slipped 0.6 per cent, wiping roughly a third of the previous week’s gain as all big four banks dipped between 0.4 and 0.7 per cent into the red.

Raw materials stocks rose less than 0.2 per cent as gold hit a fresh high, helping local miners counterbalance weakness in iron ore giants BHP and Fortescue, while Rio Tinto edged higher to $149.08.

Gold hit a new all-time high above $US4,690 ($A7,018) an ounce, lifting ASX-listed producers such as Northern Star (+3.3 per cent), while Evolution surged 2.5 per cent and US-headquartered Newmont traded 1.3 per cent higher.

Catalyst Metals was the top-200’s best performer, up almost fiver per cent after discovering a high grade gold deposit below an existing open pit reserve in Western Australia.

Lithium miners ran into some profit-taking after a steep run-up since July 2025, Liontown falling 6.3 per cent and at the bottom of the top-200’s performance tally on Monday.

Alcoa shares also dropped almost six per cent, as aluminium prices eased after hitting a more than four-year high last week.

Energy stocks slipped 0.5 per cent, as oil prices traded within a tight range as tensions between Iran and the US escalated over the weekend.

Fossil fuel giants Woodside and Santos lost 0.4 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively, while coal producers were mixed and uranium stocks broadly traded higher.

Health care stocks rolled over after a strong prior week, as imaging company 4DMedical dived 3.5 per cent despite posting a positive investor presentation ahead of the session.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare shares gave up 1.5 per cent after appointing Anna Curzon to the board as a non-executive director and selecting Margie Apa to participate in its future director’s program.

The Australian dollar is buying 66.93 US cents, down from 67.02 US cents on Friday at 5pm.