April 9 (Reuters) - Australia shares were expected to drop
on Monday, under pressure after Wall Street shed about 2 percent
on intensifying fears of a trade war between the United States
and China.
On Friday, the Dow slid more than 570 points, as U.S.
President Donald Trump's latest tariff threat on Chinese imports
fueled increasing concern and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome
Powell said the U.S. central bank will likely need to keep
hiking interest rates to keep inflation under control.
The local share price index futures fell 0.6
percent, or 33 points, to 5,739, as at close on April 7, a
49.7-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index
close. The benchmark ended flat on Friday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4
percent in early trade.
(Reporting by Karthika Suresh Namboothiri in Bengaluru; Editing
by David Gregorio)