ASX to open higher as Wall Street weathers tariff volatility

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open higher after two of three major Wall Street indices ended higher, shrugging off early losses from the uncertainty around the Trump administration's upcoming tariff plans.

The numbers: Updated at 7.25am AEDT:

• ASX futures: up 67 points or 0.85% at 7,944 points
• Wall Street: Dow Jones up 1.00%, S&P 500 up 0.55%, Nasdaq down 0.14%
• Europe: FTSE 100 down 0.88%, CAC 40 down 1.58%, DAX down 1.33%
• Spot gold: up 1.25% to USD3,123.77 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent up 1.51% to USD74.74/bbl, US WTI up 2.85% to USD71.34/bbl
• AUD: down 0.64% at 62.48 US cents
• Bitcoin: up 0.42% to USD83,825.10.

The context: The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher, reversing declines earlier in the session. The uncertainty around the Trump administration’s trade policy has resulted in US stock markets selling off so far this year, with the prospect of broad-based tariff announcements expected on 2 April raising fears of a global trade war that would hurt economic growth and spur inflation. Financial stocks helped boost the S&P 500, while tech stocks suffered from some weakness.

What to watch: Retail trade data for February at 11.30am; Reserve Bank rate decision at 2.30pm with the central bank widely expected to hold the cash rate steady.