Market wrap: ASX200 jumps on renewed tariff hopes
The ASX200 continued to trade higher on Monday on the back of renewed hope of a tariff back down.
A softening US-China trade narrative helped drive the ASX200 higher on Monday, for the third straight day of market gains.
The benchmark ASX200 index jumped 28.90 points or 0.36 per cent to close the day at 7,997.10.
The broader All Ordinaries also finished higher up 28.80 points or 0.35 per cent to 8,203.90.
The Australian dollar also continued to gain ground and is now buying 63.84 US cents.
On an overall positive day for the market, 10 of the 11 sectors finished in the green, with the index overall briefly pushing above 8,000 points for the first time in more than a month.
Mining was the only blight on the ASX, while energy and tech stocks helped to drive the market higher.
Iron ore miners BHP lost 1.1 per cent to $37.66 and Fortescue closed down 0.3 per cent to $15.47.
Rio Tinto was the outliner as it rose by 0.1 per cent to $115.
The major oil suppliers Woodside gained 1.8 per cent to $20.36 and Santos finished 2.2 per cent higher at $6.01 on the back of strengthening oil prices.
The financial sector also lagged the overall ASX200 closing 0.26 per cent higher.
NAB added 1.7 per cent to $35.70, Westpac closed 0.8 per cent stronger to $32.30 and ANZ rose 1.6 per cent to $29.31.
Australia’s largest bank Commonwealth Bank slumped 1.1 per cent to $162.85.
Capital.com senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said the changing narrative out of the White House on tariffs and trade negotiations was the primary driver for markets right now.
“If the US continues to tease investors with trade deals and the prospect of tariff reductions, the equity market is likely to keep moving higher,” he said.
“A potential obstacle could be the hard corporate and economic data that are waiting like potential speed bumps on the road ahead this week.”
While there has been little clarification on the current trade issues between the two largest economies, comments from the White House have helped boost the market’s sentiment.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said “there is a path” to an agreement over tariffs.
“I had interaction with my Chinese counterparts, but it was more on the traditional things like financial stability, global economic early warnings,” Bessent told the US ABC News’s This Week on Sunday.
Despite the positive sentiment, Mr Bessent conceded “I don’t know if President Trump has spoken with President Xi.”
In company news, Aussie businesses are showing signs of pressure due to the US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
Flight Centre announced its revised profit guidance from a range of $365m to $405m to between $300 to $330m on the back of “recent US developments.”
“Second quarter earnings momentum reported at the half year, flowed through to early third quarter results before US policy changes began to impact business and consumer confidence and corporate and leisure sales in March,” said the guidance.
Shares in Flight Centre initially fell, but traded 1.04 per cent higher throughout the day to finish at $12.59.
Shipping company Brambles also announced Trump troubles.
The pallets giant flagged demand could slow in the upcoming financial year, revising down its forecasts.
Shares in Brambles slumped 5.03 per cent to $19.83.
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