Australia’s share market closed lower on Wednesday even as gold and silver reached record highs and US stocks climbed. The Australian dollar strengthened sharply, rising to 67 US cents, its highest level since October 2024.
The ASX 200 fell 0.4 percent, or 33 points, to finish at 8,763 in a shortened Christmas Eve session. Despite the dip, the index ended the week 1.6 percent higher.
Most sectors finished in negative territory, with education down 2.8 percent, healthcare down 1.5 percent and industrials down 0.6 percent. Mining was the only sector to edge higher, gaining 0.1 percent as copper prices hit fresh records on speculative buying.
Financial stocks eased 0.4 percent after touching a one month high, with all major banks slipping between 0.2 percent and 1 percent.
In international developments, the United States announced plans to impose tariffs on Chinese semiconductor imports, accusing Beijing of pursuing dominance in the chip industry in ways that harm US commerce. The tariffs will not take effect until June 2027, and the exact rate will be revealed at least 30 days beforehand.
China rejected the move, warning that politicising trade and technology issues would destabilise global supply chains and ultimately backfire. Beijing said it would take necessary steps to protect its interests.
The tariff decision preserves the US administration’s ability to escalate trade measures while attempting to ease tensions amid China’s restrictions on rare earth exports, which are critical to global technology manufacturing.
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