Australia’s ASX energy index plummeted by 8% at close on Friday amid rising concerns about economic growth and oil demand in continued panic selling in all major markets after the U.S. tariff announcement.
The S&P/ASX 200 Energy [XEJ] index consists of the 11 companies in the S&P/ASX 200 that are classified as members of the GICS Energy sector. The index is rebalanced quarterly and constituent businesses tend to center around oil, gas, and coal.
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Losses at the broader S&P/ASX 200 index were more contained and the index dropped by 2.44%. The broad index dipped to its lowest reading in eight months, while the energy sub-index plunged to the lowest level since 2020.
Fears of slower economic growth and even recessions in many economies, including in Asia and the U.S., sent the stocks of major Australian oil and gas companies crashing on Friday.
Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS) and Santos (ASX: STO) plummeted by more than 9% each, while smaller firms such as explorer Karoon Energy Ltd and Beach Energy saw double-digit declines. Karoon Energy (ASX: KAR) plunged by 12%, and Beach Energy (ASX: BPT) lost 10.75% at close on Friday.
The Australian market and energy indexes extended on Friday the losses from Thursday, when all global markets crashed amid fears of recessions and lower oil demand.
The main indexes on Wall Street tanked and registered on Thursday the worst one-day drop since 2020. The S&P 500 index slipped into correction, after falling by more than 10% from its February all-time high.
After a string of weekly gains, oil prices were sent tumbling this week following the announcement of tariffs that the United States will impose on its trade partners, many of which are running substantial trade surpluses with the U.S.
In oil markets and energy sub-indexes, the recession fears fueled by the U.S. tariffs were exacerbated by fears of oversupply after the OPEC+ decision to add in May triple the expected oil supply volumes.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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