Markets live updates: Shares keep rising as US sees record trade deficit ahead of Liberation Day tariffs
Australian shares are poised for further steady gains as Wall Street continues to rise on optimism that US President Donald Trump will roll back his trade war.
The effect of his tariff plan on the US economy was highlighted by a record trade deficit in March, as American importers raced to bring in goods ahead of the Liberation Day announcement.
Follow the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog.
Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.
Key Events
10m ago
10 minutes ago
Tue 29 Apr 2025 at 9:31pm
27m ago
27 minutes ago
Tue 29 Apr 2025 at 9:15pm
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Key Event
10m ago
Tue 29 Apr 2025 at 9:31pm
US posts record trade deficit ahead of Liberation Day
M
By Michael Janda
Highlighting the profound effect Donald Trump's tariffs are having on the economy, even before they took effect, the
US posted its biggest ever trade deficit in March, at $US162 billion
($253 billion).
The result was driven by
a record $US342.7 billion
($536.7 billion)
of imports
, as businesses raced to bring in goods ahead of Liberation Day — Donald Trump's tariff announcement on April 2.
Many will be glad they did, with a blanket 10% minimum tariff on virtually all imports, 25% on many specific goods and tariffs ultimately up to 145% on Chinese goods implemented.
Reuters
is reporting that:
"The report from the Commerce Department's Census Bureau prompted economists to sharply downgrade their GDP estimates for last quarter to show a steeper decline rather than growth just stalling.
"
Goldman Sachs now sees GDP contracting at a 0.8% annualised rate while JPMorgan forecasts output declining at a 1.75% pace
.
"The economy grew at a 2.4% rate in the fourth quarter."
The US government is expected to release its first estimate for March quarter GDP overnight (Australian time).
Key Event
27m ago
Tue 29 Apr 2025 at 9:15pm
Markets set for further steady gains
M
By Michael Janda
Good morning and welcome to another day on the markets.
Since the last time I was running the blog a few weeks back, things have become much quieter.
There seems to be a prevailing view that the Trump administration is giving ground on tariffs and will ultimately back down on most of them.
As my colleague
Dan Ziffer
pointed out on the blog yesterday, US magazine
If you didn't have time yesterday, I'd strongly urge you to have a read — it's very revealing of the thinking (or some may argue lack thereof) of the world's most powerful man.
However, markets have recovered from their Liberation Day and subsequent losses, and that continued overnight.
The benchmark S
&
P 500 index on Wall Street closed up 0.6% to 5,561 points, as did the tech heavy Nasdaq to 17,461 points.
It seems like 0.6 was a popular number, with the
FTSE gaining that percentage to 8,463 points and Germany's DAX outperforming ever so slightly, up 0.7%
.
The
Eurostoxx index was up 0.4%
.
ASX 200 futures are up 0.3% to 8,112
, pointing to modest gains at the local open.
Westpac's Imre Speizer
said the buying was not super enthusiastic.
"Sentiment remained mixed among asset classes, reflecting mixed views on the outcome of the US' trade policy," he wrote.
"Bond yields fell further and equities rose further, while the
US dollar is slightly higher
."
Despite the rising US dollar, the
Aussie held firm at 63.83 US cents
.
Commodities markets agreed with the bond traders that US and global growth is likely to slow, with
oil, copper and iron ore all
modestly lower.
It may not look like such a wild ride, but stay with me and my colleagues as we keep you up to date with today's market action.
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