US stocks tumbled on Friday, extending their sell-off in the wake of dour economic reports and closing the book on a holiday-shortened week fraught with new tariff threats and worries of softening consumer demand.
The Australian share market has suffered its worst weekly loss in more than two years after giving up ground each day, while the local currency has climbed to a two-month high.
The ASX200 has finished 0.7 per cent lower, extending its losses after the Reserve Bank cut rates while cautioning it might not do so again anytime soon.
Australia's economy is recovering thanks to the government's measures but an interest rate call is ultimately out of its hands, the prime minister says.
Peter Dutton appears to be kicking with the wind behind his back, with multiple opinion polls showing the Albanese government could be on the nose with voters as an election nears.
The local share market has hit a new record for a third day this week, despite double-digit losses for Cochlear and AMP following disappointing earnings results.
A late rally has carried the local share market into uncharted territory after Commonwealth Bank, Suncorp, AGL and Computershare all delivered better-than-expected first-half earnings.
Wall Street held relatively firm overnight following president Donald Trump's latest tariff escalation and after the Federal Reserve hinted interest rates may not change for a while.
All three US stock indexes closed lower on Friday after President Donald Trump said he plans to announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries next week, following weak jobs and consumer sentiment data.
