Australian shares lift on US China trade optimism
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More news: The Australian sharemarket gained in early trading after weekend talks between the US and China boosted hopes for a resolution of the tariff war between the world’s two biggest economies.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 36.90 points or 0.45% to 8,268.10 after the first half hour of trade, with the heavyweight financials, materials and energy sectors in the green.
Top miners BHP and Fortescue were up more than 1% each, while peer South32 also rose 1% after announcing a replacement for its outgoing CEO.
Energy major Woodside and Santos advanced nearly 2% each, tracking gains in crude oil prices. NAB shares, which turned ex-dividend, were the only one among the big four banks to trade lower.
US stock futures are currently trading more than 1% higher after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said a deal had been reached with China to cut the US trade deficit, easing concerns of a trade war.
Australian shares set to open higher after US China trade talks
The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open higher following a mixed close on Wall Street on Friday, and after the US and China ended high-stakes trade talks on a positive note on Sunday.
The numbers: Updated at 7.25am AEDT:
- ASX futures: up 16 points or 0.19% at 8,265 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.29%, S&P 500 down 0.07%, Nasdaq up 0.01%
- Europe: FTSE 100 up 0.27%, CAC 40 up 0.64%, DAX up 0.63%
- Spot gold: up 0.58% at USD3,324.98 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 1.70% to USD63.91/bbl, US WTI up 1.85% to USD61.02/bbl
- AUD: down 0.04% at 64.22 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 0.52% to USD104,141.40.
The context: US officials touted a potential deal to reduce the US trade deficit following the discussions in Geneva, while Chinese officials said the sides had reached "important consensus" and agreed to launch another new economic dialogue forum. Earlier, US stock indices finished mixed on Friday as investors braced for the weekend trade talks between the two countries. Markets have been volatile since Trump first announced a slew of tariffs on countries around the globe on April 2, but stocks have rebounded to near levels seen just before the duties were announced, in part due to solid US corporate earnings.
What to watch: Half-year results from FleetPartners Group.
