Lunch Wrap: Markets skyrocket after Trump’s 180 on tariffs, ASX tech stocks rally hard

ASX shoots up, Aussie dollar surges, Bitcoin flies and tech stocks lead the way on Thursday.

ASX skyrockets after Trump pauses tariffs. Picture via Getty Images

• ASX skyrockets after Trump pauses tariffs

• Aussie dollar jumps, Bitcoin flies

• ASX tech stocks lead the charge, miners and fund managers rally

The ASX went absolutely gangbusters on Thursday after US President Trump did a 180 and paused tariffs on more than 75 countries.

The ASX 200 kicked off the day with a bang, jumping by almost 7%, which would've been the biggest rise since March 2020, before settling back to around 4.75% by lunchtime, AEST.

Overnight, Trump’s announcement to hit pause on those tariffs set off a wild rally.

"I have authorised a 90-day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately," part of Trump's post read.

The S&P 500 surged by 9.5%, marking its biggest one-day gain since 2008. That’s a huge $US4.5 trillion (yep, trillion) in market value added in just a session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq did even better, up by 12%.

But Trump also took more swings at China, cranking tariffs up to 125% from 104% after China slapped an 84% tariff on US goods. He also blasted China on social media, accusing them of showing him "a lack of respect".

Before trading started in New York, Trump tweeted “This is a great time to buy.”

Eric Diton at Wealth Alliance said “We are living minute-to-minute… I don’t think this is the bottom, that can’t be called until we see actual deals signed.”

"Something may be about to blow up in the capital markets as a result of the stress created by the administration's trade war,” added Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research.

The bond markets, meanwhile, went absolutely nuts with wild swings in yields as traders ditched bonds and piled into stocks again.

The VIX index, the so-called “fear gauge”, plummeted as investors tried to make sense of the chaos.

The Aussie dollar shot up over 3% to US61.30 cents right now, its biggest one-day jump since the GFC of 2008.

Money markets are now betting on big rate cuts from the RBA by Christmas, with NAB expecting a big move in May.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin surged to as high as $83.5k before settling at about US$82.3k right now... so it’s all happening.

Back on the ASX, tech stocks were leading the charge this morning, with WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) up by 6% and Life360 (ASX:360) rocketing higher by 10%.

Source: Market Index

Goodman Group (ASX:GMG), an infrastructure juggernaut, saw a massive 9.5% rise.

Qube Logistics (ASX:QUB) was up 5.5% after getting the green light from the ACCC to acquire the Melbourne International RoRo & Automotive Terminal (MIRRAT).

Most major miners were also up today, and fund managers were right there, too.

The share prices of Pinnacle Investment (ASX:PNI), HMC Capital (ASX:HMC) and Magellan Financial Group (ASX:MFG) all posted strong gains.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for April 10 :

Security	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
OSX	Osteopore Limited	0.045	181%	36,618,975	$1,933,897
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.003	50%	333,333	$2,356,635
VML	Vital Metals Limited	0.003	50%	1,265,416	$11,790,134
AJL	AJ Lucas Group	0.007	40%	2,641,039	$6,878,648
PVT	Pivotal Metals Ltd	0.009	38%	5,704,797	$5,896,968
AOA	Ausmon Resorces	0.002	33%	450,000	$1,966,820
GGE	Grand Gulf Energy	0.002	33%	508,000	$3,675,581
JAY	Jayride Group	0.002	33%	3,000,000	$2,117,588
NNL	Nordicresourcesltd	0.115	24%	131,173	$13,706,698
BMM	Bayan Mining	0.043	23%	13,700,273	$3,366,631
CND	Condor Energy Ltd	0.028	22%	25,878,575	$16,139,521
OD6	Od6Metalsltd	0.035	21%	135,500	$4,618,126
ATG	Articore Group Ltd	0.175	21%	1,144,513	$41,307,145
GAS	State GAS Limited	0.030	20%	200,647	$9,815,022
LM1	Leeuwin Metals Ltd	0.180	20%	1,770,234	$12,644,957
FBR	FBR Ltd	0.006	20%	2,961,166	$28,178,159
ROG	Red Sky Energy.	0.006	20%	1,958,647	$27,111,136
CTQ	Careteq Limited	0.014	17%	14,501	$2,845,425
EE1	Earths Energy Ltd	0.007	17%	902,602	$3,179,785
FCT	Firstwave Cloud Tech	0.014	17%	49,999	$20,562,224
IXR	Ionic Rare Earths	0.007	17%	12,615,696	$31,430,570
SHN	Sunshine Metals Ltd	0.007	17%	22,029,731	$11,905,869
SPX	Spenda Limited	0.007	17%	81,269	$27,691,293
EMD	Emyria Limited	0.029	16%	97,162	$12,281,104
GED	Golden Deeps	0.022	16%	11,782,681	$3,365,388

Golden Horse Minerals (ASX:GHM) reported some cracking results from drilling at Hopes Hill in WA, with a standout 43m at 4.5 g/t gold, part of an even bigger 83m zone. This, it said, confirms a solid gold system under the old pit, with drilling now hitting depths and along strike to uncover more. So far, 29 holes have been drilled since January, and the team will keep on testing this 1.3km-long mineralised zone.

Arika Resources (ASX:ARI) jumped after hitting multiple high-grade gold intersections in maiden drilling at the Pennyweight Point prospect, part of the Yundamindra gold joint venture project. With gold prices hovering close to all-time highs, ARI struck gold up to 35.76m at 2.14 g/t gold from 104.27 metres of depth, with intersections including 13.46m at 5.28 g/t gold from 150m and 14 metres at 15.48 g/t gold from 46m.

Noronex (ASX:NRX) has kicked off diamond drilling at the Fiesta Copper Project in Namibia to test the depth extensions of the Western Lens. The first hole, 25FIEDD26, will follow up on recent promising results, including copper and silver hits. The drill program, funded by South32, is set to cover 2,000m, aiming to better understand the mineralisation and guide future exploration.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for April 10 :

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
MOM	Moab Minerals Ltd	0.001	-50%	719,849	$3,467,332
CDT	Castle Minerals	0.002	-33%	771,452	$5,783,469
RAS	Ragusa Minerals Ltd	0.016	-30%	592,667	$3,279,772
MEG	Megado Minerals Ltd	0.011	-27%	1,609,543	$6,295,249
AOK	Australian Oil.	0.002	-25%	1,000,000	$2,003,566
ABE	Ausbondexchange	0.031	-23%	26,333	$4,506,725
PKD	Parkd Ltd	0.028	-20%	9,445	$3,640,486
AMS	Atomos	0.004	-20%	1,800	$6,075,092
AVE	Avecho Biotech Ltd	0.004	-20%	112,489	$15,846,485
AYT	Austin Metals Ltd	0.004	-20%	280,000	$7,870,957
CTN	Catalina Resources	0.002	-20%	39,285	$3,790,655
IPB	IPB Petroleum Ltd	0.004	-20%	75,000	$3,532,015
OVT	Ovanti Limited	0.004	-20%	3,000,000	$13,507,739
APC	APC Minerals	0.009	-18%	3,065,222	$1,288,904
ENL	Enlitic Inc.	0.046	-18%	516,105	$32,234,120
PBL	Parabellumresources	0.035	-17%	670,638	$2,616,600
BTC	BTC Health Ltd	0.050	-17%	9,092	$19,519,398
ADO	Anteotech Ltd	0.010	-17%	1,301,812	$32,463,604
AZL	Arizona Lithium Ltd	0.005	-17%	1,870,857	$27,370,887
BP8	Bph Global Ltd	0.003	-17%	203,588	$1,824,924
EMU	EMU NL	0.020	-17%	137,300	$4,646,434
W2V	Way2Vatltd	0.005	-17%	75,000	$5,604,001
SPN	Sparc Tech Ltd	0.135	-16%	142,129	$15,339,672
PCL	Pancontinental Energ	0.006	-14%	8,456,193	$56,956,101

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Zenith Energy (ASX:ZEN) is gearing up for a deep drilling campaign at the Red Mountain gold project after securing a $275,000 collaborative exploration initiative grant from the Queensland government, with the goal of unlocking the project’s gold potential, as well as associated copper and molybdenum mineralisation at depth.

Peregrine Gold (ASX:PGD) has secured $807,566 with the completion of a shortfall offer, part of a non-renounceable entitlement offer first offered October last year. The funding will go to scaling PGD’s gold assets, which include the Newman and Mallina gold projects in Western Australia.

Targeting a bedrock gold source, Miramar Resources (ASX:M2R) has launched a drilling program at the Gidji joint venture project in Western Australia, with an eye to also extending the Marylebone, Blackfriars and Highway gold discoveries.

A long-standing dispute between Conrad Asia Energy (ASX:CRD) and Coro Energy Duyung has been resolved after the two parties signed a settlement agreement. CRD will obtain Coro Duyung’s 15% interest in the Duyung Production Sharing Contract, in return for cash consideration of US$300,000 and 500,000 new CRD shares, contingent on government approval. A further US$750,000 worth of CRD shares will also be issued to Coro within the first 45 days of commercial production at the Duyung facility.

HyTerra Limited (ASX:HYT) has taken the first steps in executing a 12-month exploration program at the Nemaha project in the US, seeking to unlock the potential natural or white hydrogen within the area. The company has completed an aerial survey, with initial results providing important geological insights, and has mobilised a drilling rig to the Sue Duroche 3 well location, expected to arrive early next week.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Zenith Minerals, Peregrine Gold, Miramar Resources, Conrad Asia Energy and Hyterra are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions. 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

Originally published as Lunch Wrap: Markets skyrocket after Trump’s 180 on tariffs, ASX tech stocks rally hard