ASX 200 soars to new record-high on Wednesday after fresh reports of the US and China closing in on a trade agreement
The ASX 200 has hit a record high on Wednesday as it has surpassed its February peak following fresh reports of the US and China closing in on a trade agreement.
The index was up 0.5 per cent in the first half hour of trading with digital finance company Zip Co jumping 15 per cent after upgrading its FY25 guidance.
New Zealand-based Fletcher Building is up 8.9 per cent, Pilbara Minerals has risen 7.4 per cent and Mineral Resources has jumped 3.4 per cent.
Sky News Business Reporter Ed Boyd said the index's rise marks an 'all-time record high' for the ASX 200 as it hovers around 8630 points.
'The previous intra-day record was 8615 points. It is now decently above that in early trade,' Boyd said.
The ASX 200 has experienced wild turbulence since the beginning of the year.
It hit a peak in mid-February before slowly dropping after Trump began revealing his trade policies - including tariffs on aluminium, steel and automotive parts.
The index plummeted in early April after the sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs were slapped on most nations around the world.
Trump temporarily pausing these levies and a boost of investor confidence has led to a gradual rise of the ASX 200.
Wednesday's jump comes after China's Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang said on Tuesday that the Chinese and the US negotiating teams had agreed a framework on trade after two days of talks, and would take that back to their leaders.
"The two sides have, in principle, reached a framework for implementing the consensus reached by the two heads of state during the phone call on June 5th and the consensus reached at the Geneva meeting," Li told reporters.
While the comments followed the close of trade on Wall Street, the major indexes still rose on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones added 0.3 per while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both rose 0.6 per cent.
London's FTSE 250 Index jumped 0.5 per cent, Germany's fell 0.8 per cent and the STOXX Europe 600 fell flat on Tuesday.
New Zealand's NZX 50 Index is up 0.5 per cent as Japan's Nikkei 225 has added 0.6 per cent on Wednesday.
-With Reuters
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