Australian stock market slumps amid fears of worsening US-China trade war

Benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falls 2.4% after another sell-off on Wall Street overnight triggered by changes to the US tariff regime

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The Australian sharemarket lost nearly $60bn in early trading on Friday, as concerns about Donald Trump's unsettling policy shifts and deteriorating trade relations between the world's two biggest economies take hold.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 lost more than half its gains from the previous day after a sell-off on Wall Street overnight, falling almost 2.4% to an early low of 7,524 points, before recovering some ground.

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