‘Uncertainty': ASX rises on temporary Trump pause

Perth Now

5 days ago

Australia's stock market closed higher on Thursday thanks to a rally in energy and information technology shares on the back of a US court ruling on President Donald Trump's tariff policy.
The benchmark ASX 200 index crept higher closing up 12.9 points or 0.15 per cent to 8,409.80.
The broader All Ordinaries traded in line with the ASX 200, also closing higher up 12.90 points or 0.15 per cent to 8,637.80.
The Australian dollar is up and is now buying 64.43 US cents.
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Australian shares rose on the back of the latest Trump move. Photo: Gaye Gerard / NewsWire
Credit: News Corp Australia
On an overall positive day, seven of the 11 sectors closed in the green, led by energy, information technology and telecommunications services shares.
Oil and gas producers Woodside Energy climbed 2.76 per cent to $22.73 while Santos is up 1.53 per cent to $6.65.
WiseTech Global shares jumped 1.18 per cent to $108.77 while Technology One Limited closed 1.77 per cent higher at $40.77 and Life360 finished Thursday's trading up 2.11 per cent to $33.37.
The big four banks also helped drive the market higher.
CBA shares rose 0.37 per cent to $174.44, NAB gained 0.43 per cent to $37.50, ANZ finished marginally higher up 0.14 per cent to $28.92, and Westpac outshone the rest on Thursday up 0.76 per cent to $31.71.
Australia's market closed slightly higher, despite a strong lead in from Wall Street with the three major futures index all trading higher.
The Dow Jones were up 1.4 per cent, the S& P500 gained 1.7 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq over 2 per cent higher.
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Seven of the 11 sectors finished in the green. NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers
Credit: News Corp Australia
The market response was to the US Court of International Trade overnight ruling the President Trump had overstepped his authority when he imposed his 'Liberation Day' reciprocal tariffs, with the judges ordering the tariff order be vacated.
eToro market analyst Josh Gilbert said the US courts declared tariffs illegal and must be stopped within 10 calendar days.
'Although this is a positive for investors in the short term, given the immediate rally we're seeing, the big question we'll be asking is does this end Trump's rampage on global trade? At this juncture, it seems unlikely,' he said.
Mr Gilbert said the market was likely to continue to be volatile over the next 10 days but if the decision was held up, it would likely be a tailwind for markets.
'While investors may see risk as the first place they turn to, given the move higher we're seeing in equity futures, we're entering a window of uncertainty,' he said.
'The tariff news flow is changing day-to-day, and that's a reminder to manage your risk, especially given that it's far too early to see how this will play out.'
In corporate news, Australia's data centres traded heavily in the green after Nvidia shook off fears that China's low-cost DeepSeek artificial intelligence model would impact the world's largest chip maker.
Shares in DigiCo Infrastructure REIT rose 2.1 per cent to $3.35, Infratil rose 0.62 per cent to $9.80 and Megaport jumped 2.95 per cent to $13.95.