Top 10 at 11: ASX opens lower after Trump ramps up tariff rhetoric once again

News.com.au

2 days ago

Morning, and welcome to Stockhead's Top 10 (at 11… ish), highlighting the movers and shakers on the ASX in early-doors trading.
With the market opening at 10am sharp eastern time, the data is taken at 10:15, once trading kicks off in earnest.
In brief, this is what the markets have been up to this morning.
May marks solid month of growth
May was a month of recovery for global markets, which gained steadily over the past 31 days to make up much of the damage done by sweeping tariffs imposed by the Trump administration in April.
While the Nasdaq and the S&P500 both fell marginally in trade on Friday night, the indices marked their best month of trade since 2023, adding 9.6% and 6.2% respectively.
The Bluechip Dow Jones added 0.1% on Friday and 3.9% through the month.
Over in Europe, annual German inflation data showed a 0.1% fall to 2.1% in May, just a hair off the Central Bank's 2% target.
That brings an interest rate cut for the Eurozone into focus, with analysts confident inflation is now under control.
'Unlike in the US where, largely thanks to tariff threats, resurging inflation is a serious likelihood, in Europe, central banks feel they have a decent grip on it,' Morningstar chief European equity market strategist Michael Field said.
The FTSE300 lifted 3.9% and the FTSE100 3.3% in May, having added 0.2% and 0.6% on Friday respectively.
Trump doubles steel tariff
Just when we thought all the tariff back and forth was settling down, Trump has decided to double US tariffs on steel imports, drawing criticism from the EU.
'We strongly regret the announced increase of US tariffs on steel imports from 25% to 50%,' an EU spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News.
'This decision adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.'
The EU certainly doesn't look likely to roll over and take the new import tax – the trade bloc has already signalled its intention to impose countermeasures.
The new tariff hike will go into effect on June 4, unless Trump backs down again.
The EU says its countermeasures will come into effect on July 14 if no 'mutually acceptable solution is reached'.
Australia imported about US$608 million in iron, steel and aluminium to the US in 2023, just 0.6% of our total exports.
The tariffs are unlikely to have much of an effect on the overall steel industry here at home, as most of our iron, steel and aluminium is exported to Chinese markets.
ASX dips in early trade
The ASX has opened lower despite Futures pointing to a marginal lift in trade, down 0.06% as of about 10:30 am AEST.
The Materials sector is pushing higher (+0.31%), supported by a 0.58% uplift in the ASX All Ords Gold index.
Six of 11 sectors are in the red this morning, led down by Consumer Discretionary with a 0.74% dip.
Both the ASX 200 Banks (-0.49%) and All Tech (-0.40%) indices are also dragging this morning, creating headwinds for the rest of the market.
Apart from the new steel tariff, Trump has also accused China of breaking May's trade truce.
On Friday he told reporters he would be speaking with Chinese President Xi Jinping to reach a new understanding.
The Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said China had repeatedly raised concerns with the US regarding its abuse of export control measures in the semiconductor sector.
'China once again urges the US to immediately correct its erroneous actions, cease discriminatory restrictions against China and jointly uphold the consensus reached at the high-level talks in Geneva,' Liu said.
The US Department of Commerce says it's reviewing strategic exports and considering suspending existing export licences or imposing additional requirements.
Here's hoping they figure it out sooner rather than later.
WINNERS
Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap
DTR Dateline Resources 0.16 65% 48659518 $277,247,109
MOM Moab Minerals Ltd 0.0015 50% 5000 $1,733,666
OSL Oncosil Medical 0.003 50% 100000 $9,213,164
CRI Criticalim 0.0175 35% 19464337 $34,949,832
CTN Catalina Resources 0.004 33% 3023998 $7,278,057
LKY Locksleyresources 0.1025 28% 10331313 $11,733,333
FTL Firetail Resources 0.075 25% 845333 $22,801,679
BLZ Blaze Minerals Ltd 0.0025 25% 82121 $3,133,896
DXN DXN Limited 0.045 25% 301977 $10,753,331
ERA Energy Resources 0.0025 25% 642295 $810,792,482
In the news...
Dateline Resources (ASX:DTR) has mapped out new felsite dykes near historical pits at the Colosseum gold and rare earth element project in California, in the form of gold-bearing breccia pipes.
The company says it's identified the breccia pipe's distinct geophysical signature, which can be used to detect similar gold mineral formations beneath the surface of the project.
Firetail Resources (ASX:FTL) has locked-in option agreements to acquire interests in two US-based gold projects. FTL is looking to secure up to 80% of the Excelsior Springs project and 100% of the Bella project, which have produced results of up to 51.8m at 4 g/t gold and 12.2m at 46.62 g/t gold respectively.
DXN (ASX:DXN) has inked a $4.6m contract to deliver three prefabricated modular data centre units for Globalstar Inc.
The company says the detail demonstrates DXN's growing relevance in the global satellite and aerospace infrastructure sector, reflecting the technical strength of its offering.
LAGGARDS
Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap
ASR Asra Minerals Ltd 0.002 -33% 450000 $8,299,608
HLX Helix Resources 0.002 -33% 2998297 $10,092,581
RLG Roolife Group Ltd 0.004 -20% 154409 $7,963,906
GGE Grand Gulf Energy 0.0025 -17% 116288 $8,461,275
GTE Great Western Exp. 0.011 -15% 1665790 $7,380,853
FAU First Au Ltd 0.003 -14% 125000 $7,251,976
HHR Hartshead Resources 0.006 -14% 2026105 $19,660,775
AS2 Askarimetalslimited 0.007 -13% 88842 $3,233,365
GSM Golden State Mining 0.007 -13% 150000 $2,234,965
In the news…
Investors were unimpressed with Great Western Exploration's (ASX:GTE) niobium drilling results from the Yerrida North project in WA. The company's 15-hole program found nothing of particular interest, leading GTE to rule the Sumo target out for further exploration.
Great Western will turn its attention to the Oval and Oval South copper-gold targets instead, planning a gravity survey for mid-to-late June.