ASX 200 surges as Nvidia briefly surpasses $6 trillion market cap and US President Donald Trump reveals further tariffs
The index has jumped 0.6 per cent in the first 40 minutes of trading with gold miners West African Resources and Regis Resources adding 4.9 and 3.5 per cent respectively.
Neuren Pharmaceuticals and Pro Medicus have jumped 3.5 and 2.5 per cent respectively as the medical industry remains on watch for the US President's planned levies.
Trump has continued to roll out his sweeping trade policy as his 'Liberation Day' tariff suspension came to an end.
He revealed 30 per cent levies on Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka.
Brunei and Moldova are subject to 25 per cent duties while the Philippines faces 20 per cent tariffs.
A surge on Wall Street was boosted by Nvidia becoming the first company to surpass the US$4 trillion (AU$6t) mark after peaking at US$164.42 before settling over the day.
It finished up 1.8 per cent on Wednesday and traded with a market capitalisation of US$3.97t at US$162.88 per share.
Josh Gilbert, a market analyst at eToro, said Nvidia's "meteoric rise highlights the sheer momentum of this AI boom, which isn't showing any signs of slowing down".
"Nvidia has become the heartbeat of the market, making up around 7.5 per cent of the S&P 500 and nearly 10 per cent of the Nasdaq 100.
"In the same way Apple symbolised the smartphone era, Nvidia now defines the AI era.
"Its last earnings in May solidified its position with continued growth, margins most businesses would envy, and a war chest that gives the company the firepower to keep innovating."
Meanwhile, Bitcoin surged to a record high of US$112,000.
Mr Gilbert said the new record comes as a wide array of investors adopt the cryptocurrency.
'Institutional adoption is growing, and this is the first real bull market where institutional participation is front and centre,' Mr Gilbert said.
'Publicly traded companies are now adopting bitcoin as part of their treasury strategy, with some making multi-billion-dollar allocations.'
'At the same time, retirement funds and sovereign wealth funds are starting to gain exposure through ETFs, adding to the wave of demand chasing a fixed supply.'
The Dow Jones rose 0.5 per cent, the S&P 500 added 0.6 per cent and the Nasdaq jumped 0.9 per cent.
London's FTSE 250 Index finished down 0.1 per cent, Germany's DAX rose 1.4 per cent and the STOXX Europe 600 soared 0.8 per cent on Wednesday.
Since trading began on Thursday, New Zealand's NZX 50 Index has risen 0.1 per cent while Japan's Nikkei 225 has slumped 0.5 per cent.
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ABC News
39 minutes ago
- ABC News
Donald Trump says he wants to stop Vladimir Putin's 'war machine' but his sanctions–tariffs combo could backfire
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Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
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AU Financial Review
2 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
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