Australian shares closed the week flat with a slight negative tilt, as Trump warned of imposing tariffs on Canadian goods and making a statement on Russia.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index was little changed to close at 8,580.1.
Trump threatened a 35% tariff on Canadian goods from August 1, and also disclosed plans to make a "major" Russia statement on Monday, Bloomberg reported.
The President also said he was eyeing blanket tariffs of 15% to 20% on other countries.
"Markets are likely to be concerned about further escalations given that Canada has retaliated before," said Fiona Lim, a senior strategist at Malayan Banking Bhd in Singapore.
"Threatening to put universal tariffs on other countries is very, very negative for financial markets more generally," Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay added.
In company news, Johns Lyng Group (ASX:JLG) entered a scheme implementation deed with Sherwood BidCo, an entity controlled by Pacific Equity Partners, to fully acquire Johns Lyng for AU$4 per share via a scheme of arrangement that values the company at AU$1.3 billion. Shares of the company rose 23% at market close.
Shares of Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC) surged over 17%, reaching their highest point in over three years, while those of Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU) soared 23%, after US-based MP Materials entered a multibillion-dollar public-private partnership with the US Department of Defense to create an end-to-end US rare earth magnet supply chain.
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