19:30

Australian market slumps

Australia’s market has fallen on open, defying the lead set by a rally on US markets inspired by president Donald Trump’s promise of significant economic stimulus to combat the coronavirus crisis.

The benchmark ASX200 index fell 0.59% shortly after trade opened on Wednesday morning.

Overnight, Australian time, US markets were up around 5% but the London exchange’s FTSE index recorded a small fall of 0.1%.

Australians are now waiting for details of a local stimulus package, which prime minister Scott Morrison is expected to reveal on Thursday.

Earlier on Wednesday morning, Australia’s biggest bank, the Commonwealth Bank, announced it would be cutting small business loan rates by 0.25 percentage points, matching rivals Westpac and NAB.

The cut is part of a series of measures designed to help customers hit by the outbreak that also including waiving fees for small businesses and allowing them to put off loan repayments for three months.

It said it would also try to pay more of its small and medium-sized suppliers immediately. The bank says currently two-thirds of suppliers get paid straight away and it wants to move the rest to immediate payment terms when practical.