Australian shares to soar after Wall Street rallies on Trump tariff pause

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to soar in early trade, tracking a sharp rebound on Wall Street, after US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for most countries.

The numbers: Updated at 7.25am AEDT:

• ASX futures: up 490 points or 6.62% at 7,895 points
• Wall Street: Dow Jones up 7.87%, S&P 500 up 9.52%, Nasdaq up 12.16%
• Europe: FTSE 100 down 2.92%, CAC 40 down 3.34%, DAX down 3.00%
• Spot gold: up 0.01% to USD3,082.90 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent up 4.58% to USD65.70/bbl, US WTI up 4.65% to USD62.35/bbl
• AUD: down 0.01% at 61.53 US cents
• Bitcoin: up 9.26% to USD83,337.72.

The context: Trump said he would temporarily lower new tariffs on most countries to 10%, bringing some relief to investors worried about the global economic impact of US trade policies. However, he raised the levy on imports from China to 125% in response to the Asian giant’s retaliatory tariffs on US goods. The truce encouraged investors into bargain hunting after stocks had fallen more than 12% in the biggest four-day selloff in five years. After Trump's reversal, Goldman Sachs said it was rescinding its recession forecast and reverted to its previous estimate for the US economy to grow in 2025. The CBOE Volatility Index, seen as Wall Street's ‘fear gauge’, fell sharply after the tariff pause.

What to watch: Monthly Business Turnover data for February at 11.30am; RBA governor Michele Bullock to deliver a keynote at the Chief Executive Women Melbourne Annual Dinner at 8.00pm.