Escalating trade conflict to fuel market volatility

THE US trade spat with the world's largest economies is likely to continue to haunt investors in the third quarter, with escalating rhetoric by leaders fuelling market volatility.

The US-China trade conflict is about to shift into a higher gear, with additional tariffs on Chinese imports kicking in on July 6.

Big market swings were evident on Friday, which saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average bounce back with more than 200 points in intraday gains, before settling 55.36 points, or 0.2 per cent, up at 24,271.41. It was up 0.7 per cent for the quarter, but down 1.8 per cent since the start of the year.