Australian shares rise after US-China trade truce
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More news: The Australian sharemarket has joined a rally across the Asia Pacific after the US and China agreed to temporarily slash tariffs, raising hopes for the easing of a global trade war.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 57.30 points or 0.7% to 8,290.80 after the first half hour of trade, led by gains in energy, technology and healthcare shares. Top miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue were each up more than 2% each, while energy majors Woodside and Santos jumped over 3% each, tracking gains in crude oil prices. Three of the Big Four banks were trading lower, while Life360 and WiseTech led the gains among technology shares.
Earlier, all three major US stock indices ended sharply higher after the US and China announced they would slash steep tariffs on each other for 90 days, prompting demand for riskier assets and a turn away from defensive bets.
Australian shares to jump after Wall St surges on US-China trade truce
The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open higher, tracking sharp gains on Wall Street after the US and China agreed to temporarily slash tariffs following negotiations over the weekend.
The numbers: Updated at 7.25am AEDT:
- ASX futures: up 97 points or 1.17% at 8,364 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 2.81%, S&P 500 up 3.26%, Nasdaq up 4.35%
- Europe: FTSE 100 up 0.59%, CAC 40 up 1.37%, DAX up 0.29%
- Spot gold: down 0.03% at USD3,235.57 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 1.86% to USD65.10/bbl, US WTI up 1.52% to USD61.95/bbl
- AUD: down 0.02% at 63.71 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 1.52% to USD102,456.
The context: All three major US stock indices rose sharply after the US and China announced they would slash steep tariffs on each other for 90 days, bringing some hope for the easing of a global trade war ignited by US President Donald Trump in April. Investors showed some relief by favouring riskier assets and turning away from more defensive bets. Of the 11 S&P sub-sectors, the heavyweight consumer discretionary and technology were the strongest, climbing 5.66% and 4.66% respectively.
What to watch: Overseas Arrivals and Departures data for March; Q1 results from Life360.
