Australian shares start 0.5% higher after Wall Street gains
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: The Australian sharemarket has opened higher on the back of overnight gains on Wall Street amid revived hopes for progress in the US-China trade dispute.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 37 points or 0.47% to 7,957.50 after the first 20 minutes of trade, with a majority of the 11 sectoral indices trading higher. Top miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group were all around 1% higher, while each of the Big Four banks also registered gains. However, energy majors Woodside and Santos were both down 2% each, in line with a decline in benchmark crude prices. Resmed led gains in the healthcare sector after posting a lift in third-quarter revenue and profit.
The early momentum follows a strong trading session on Wall Street, after US President Donald Trump signalled he was open to easing trade tensions between the world's two largest economies and reports said his administration was considering cutting its tariffs on Chinese goods imported to the US.
Australian shares to open higher after Wall Street gains
The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open higher after gains on Wall Street on revived hopes for progress in the US-China trade dispute and as US President Donald Trump soothed fears about the Federal Reserve’s autonomy.
The numbers: Updated at 7.25am AEDT:
- ASX futures: up 13 points or 0.16% at 7,946 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 1.07%, S&P 500 up 1.67%, Nasdaq up 2.50%
- Europe: FTSE 100 up 0.90%, CAC 40 up 2.13%, DAX up 3.14%
- Spot gold: down 2.73% at USD3,288.34 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 1.9% to USD66.16/bbl, US WTI down 2.20% to USD62.27/bbl
- AUD: up 0.09% at 63.65 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 0.43% to USD93,812.57.
The context: All three major US indices notched gains after Trump signalled he was open to easing trade tensions between the world's two largest economies and amid reports the Trump Administration is considering cutting its tariffs on Chinese goods imported to the US. Trump also dialed back his attacks on the Fed, which have rattled markets. Tech and consumer discretionary notched the biggest percentage gains among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, while Tesla shares rose 5% after CEO Elon Musk said he would significantly scale back his work with the Trump Administration to devote more time to running his companies.
What to watch: Detailed Labour Force data for March at 11.30am.
