ASX holds gains as US futures turn negative
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: The Australian sharemarket was holding gains of around 4.7% at 2pm AEST, mirroring advances across Asian markets.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 348 points to 7,723.2, with all 11 sectors in the green and just one ASX 200 company in the red.
Technology (7.2%), mining (6.6%) and energy (6.1%) shares all extended large gains into afternoon trading.
Elsewhere, Japan's Topix index (7.6%), Hong Kong's Hang Seng (1.8%) and the Shanghai Composite (0.9%) advanced.
However, US futures turned negative, with contracts for the S&P 500 (-0.6%), Nasdaq 100 (-1.4%) and Dow Jones (-0.1%) all down.
Likewise, oil futures returned to losses after a brief rally overnight. Brent crude fell below US$65 a barrel after notching its best one-day gain since October, while West Texas Intermediate was down more than 1% to under US$62.
ASX trims early gains as Asian markets surge
More news: The Australian sharemarket pared early gains of more than 5.5% but remained 4.7% higher at midday AEST.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 344 points to 7,719.1, with all 11 sectors in the green.
Technology (6.9%) was the best performing sector, tracking a historic 12% jump on the Nasdaq overnight. Life360 (10.8%) led the rally as WiseTech Global (6.8%) and Xero (6.2%) notched sizeable gains.
Mining (6%) and energy (5.7%) stocks also advanced after being some of the hardest hit by the US tariffs. Iron ore giants BHP (6%), Rio Tinto (5.3%) and Fortescue (5.3%) all rebounded, as did oil producers Woodside Energy (5.7%) and Santos (4.4%).
Real estate shares climbed 5.8% as the sector's largest company Goodman Group added 10.2%. ASX newcomer DigiCo Infrastructure REIT surged 17.6%.
Of the ASX 200 companies, only Nuix (-1.5%) and Worley (0.4%) were in the red.
Offshore, Japan's Topix index (7.1%), Hong Kong's Hang Seng (4.5%) and the Shanghai Composite (1.5%) all lifted.
Australian shares soar 5.5% in early trade after US pause on tariffs
The news: The Australian sharemarket has soared in early trading amid investor relief over US President Donald Trump announcing a 90-day pause on tariffs for most countries.
The numbers: The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 408.70 points or 5.54% to 7,783.70 within the first few minutes of trade, with each of its 11 sectoral indices in the green.
The context: Local stocks mirrored a sharp rally on Wall Street that saw the S&P 500 leap 9.5% and the Nasdaq climb 12% after Trump announced the abrupt pause, bringing some relief to investors worried about the global economic impact of US trade policies.
Beaten-down mining, energy and financial stocks notched the biggest gains in the local market as investors rushed into bargain buys. Top miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group climbed more than 7% each, while energy majors Woodside and Santos were up 9% and 7% respectively.
Each of the Big Four banks were trading around 7% higher, while real estate stocks rallied as economists and interest rate swaps predicted more than 100 basis points in interest rate cuts over the next 12 months from the RBA. Technology stocks including WiseTech and Life360 rallied 9% and 14% higher respectively.
The Australian dollar has climbed 3% overnight to trade at 61.46 US cents.
The sources: ASX, Bloomberg
