Australian shares hit near 8-month low as Trump tariffs fuel recession fears

April 4 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell to a near eight-month trough on Friday, with commodity companies leading a broad sell-off, as U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs triggered worries of a global economic slowdown.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell as much as 2% to 7,704.60 points by 1154 GMT. The benchmark hit its lowest level since August 9, 2024.

Trump's new baseline 10% tariff on imported goods and some eye-watering reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries raised fears of a full-blown trade dispute hitting an ailing global economy.

Wall Street stocks posted their biggest drop since 2020. MKTS/GLOB

Overnight, the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 1,679.39 points, or 3.98%, at 40,545.93 points. The S&P 500 .SPX lost 274.45 points, or 4.84%, while Nasdaq .IXIC fell 1,050.44 points, or 5.97%.

In Sydney, energy firms .AXEJ shed as much as 6.8% to touch their lowest level since November 2020. The sub-index was on track for its worst day since September 2022 after oil prices posted their steepest fall in three years. O/R

Brent futures LCOc1 ended Thursday's session 6.42% lower at $70.14 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 crude futures finished at $66.95 a barrel, down 6.64%. O/R

Sector majors Woodside Energy WDS.AX and Santos STO.AX fell 7% and 7.2%, respectively.

Mining sector .AXMM fell as much as 2.6% to their lowest level since September 2024 as iron ore prices declined. IRONORE/

Global miner Rio Tinto RIO.AX lost 2.3% while Fortescue FMG.AX was down 1.6%.

Technology firms .AXIJ declined as much as 5% to a 1-year low, tracking their U.S. peers. Financial firms .AXFJ were trading 1.6% lower.

Bucking the trend, the hunt for safe havens pushed investors to seek refuge in consumer staples, with the overall consumer index .AXSJ gaining 0.6%.

Top grocers Woolworths WOW.AX and Coles COL.AX were up 0.9% and 2.1%, respectively.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.8% to 12,234.58 points.

(Reporting by Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)

((aaditya.govindrao@thomsonreuters.com))