Move FM Australian News

SYDNEY, Australia – Australian stocks continued to be sold off on Wednesday, a day after losing $47 billion of their value in the biggest one-day fall in four months.

The Australian All Ordinaries fell a further 104.00 poinmts or 1.53% on Wednesday to close at 6,714.40.

Stocks in Asia generally were weak with a further spanner in the U.S.-China trade talks, courtesy of President Donald Trump.

The U.S. president spooked markets with the suggestion a trade deal between the two economic superpowers may not be concluded before the 2020 elections. The remark sparked a major sell-off in U.S. stocks which spread globally.

The Nikkei 225 fell 244.58 p[oin ts or 0.98% Wednesday, to close at 26,133.26.

The U.S. dollar was steady after heavy falls in the U.S. Around the Sydney close the euro was trading at 1.1076. The British pound was well bid at 1.2992. The Japanese yen rose to 108.57, while the Swiss franc firmied to 0.9873.

The Canadian dollar edged higher to 1.3290. The Australian dollar dropped half-a-cent to 0.6825. GThe New Zealand dollar was slightly lower at 0.6516.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 280.23 points, or 1.01%, at 27,502.81.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 dropped 20.67 points, or 0.66%, to 3,093.20.

The Nasdaq Composite lost 47.34 points, or 0.55%, to 8,520.64.