Australian shares closed at their lowest level in over a week on Friday, with mining stocks leading declines after US President Donald Trump said he will slap a 10% tariff on $300 billion of Chinese imports.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ended down 0.3% or 20.3 points at 6,768.6, after losing 0.4% in the previous session. The benchmark fell 0.4% for the week.
Trump's announcement on Thursday extended tariffs to nearly all of the Chinese goods the United States imports, ratcheting up a protracted tussle that has weighed on global growth and battered equities.
Mining stocks, whose top export destination is China, dropped to an over six-week trough and accounted for majority of the losses on the benchmark.
World's biggest miner BHP Group Ltd fell 3.7% to its lowest since June 11 and was the biggest drag on the main index.
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto slumped to a near-three month trough despite posting its highest margins in a decade and delivering a record interim payout.
Iron ore miners were also hurt by a near 5% fall in Chinese futures contracts for the steel-making commodity.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index ticked up 3.05 points to finish at 10,863.87. The index posted a weekly gain of 0.5%, extending a winning streak to a eight consecutive week.
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