Australia shares slid on Thursday as investors fretted over the threat of an imminent US attack on Syria and China's commerce ministry saying that trade negotiations with the United States would be impossible. US President Donald Trump warned Russia on Wednesday of imminent military action in Syria, declaring missiles "will be coming" which led to major US indices falling between 0.4 percent and 0.9 percent.
China's commerce ministry said on Thursday that trade negotiations with the United States would be impossible because Washington's attempts at dialogue were not sincere. The ministry vowed to retaliate if Trump escalated current tensions. On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 0.2 percent, or 13.2 points, to 5,815.5. It fell 0.5 percent on Wednesday. The financial index contributed the most to the benchmark's weakness, dropping 0.4 percent. Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell 0.8 percent and weighed on the main index the most while Westpac Banking Corp, the second-largest contributor to the benchmark's fall, , slipped 0.6 percent.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index slipped 0.6 percent, or 49.5 points, to 8,404.22, as most sectors dropped.