ASX 200 up slightly as US, Chinese officials report making 'substantial progress' on trade discussions in Switzerland
Aussie stocks have nudged up on Monday as investor rally on hopes of the US-China trade war simmering after the two world's largest superpowers met to discuss tariffs over the weekend.
The ASX 200 is up about 0.5 per cent so far with nine of the 11 sectors increasing.
Energy and real estate stocks are leading the charge with Beach Energy up 3.3 per cent and property investor HMC Capital surging 2.9 per cent on Monday.
It comes as Chinese and US officials reported achieving 'substantial progress' on trade discussions in Switzerland as the global superpowers move towards de-escalating the hefty tariffs both have on each other.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and trade representative Jamieson Greer both attended meetings with Chinese officials, with Mr Greer lauding the negotiations between the economic superpowers.
'It's important to understand how quickly we were able to come to an agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not as large as maybe thought,' Mr Greer told reporters.
'That being said, there was a lot of groundwork that went into these two days.'
Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng similarly praised the discussions, which he described as "candid, in-depth and constructive on issues of concern to both countries".
"The meeting achieved substantial progress and reached important consensus," Mr He said.
The discussions could help reduce the 145 per cent tariff the US has on Chinese goods and the reciprocal 125 per cent tariffs Beijing has on US exports.
Sky News' Business Editor Ross Greenwood said there was speculation that these discussion were not indicative of an actual trade deal, but noted investors would be encouraged by the news regardless.
"(The market) started out pretty well and that is off the back of that trade deal between China and the United States and there is real speculation that this won't last and the cessation of tariffs between the two is not real necessarily, but the stock market has grabbed onto it," Greenwood said.
He added that new unemployment and wage numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics due this week will also play a key role in future growth on the ASX, with the unemployment rate expected to maintain at 4.1 per cent.
"If we do see those unemployment numbers ... come in as expected then this run is likely to continue," he said.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.1 per cent on Friday while the Dow Jones sank 0.3 per cent and the Nasdaq finished flat.
London's FTSE 250 rose 0.2 per cent, Germany's Dax jumped 0.6 per cent and the EURO STOXX 50 Index finished up 0.4 per cent on Friday.
New Zealand's NZX 50 has risen 0.3 per cent since trading began on Monday.
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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
HK activist charged under China-imposed security law
Hong Kong authorities have once again arrested pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong and charged him with conspiracy to collude with a foreign country under a Beijing-imposed national security law. Wong, 28, was originally set to be released in January 2027 from a 56-month jail sentence he is serving under the same law for conspiracy to commit subversion after he participated in an unofficial primary election. Taken to the West Kowloon magistrates' courts, Wong faced a new charge of conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security. The former student pro-democracy activist, who wore a blue shirt and appeared noticeably thinner than before, replied, "Understand," when the clerk read out the charge and details of the offence. Wong did not apply for bail, and the case was adjourned to August 8. Before returning to custody, he waved, shrugged, and shook his head in the direction of the public gallery. In a statement, Hong Kong's national security police said they had arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of the offence, as well as for "dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence". A charge sheet seen by Reuters accuses Wong of having conspired with exiled activist Nathan Law and others to ask foreign countries, institutions, organisations, or individuals outside China to impose sanctions or blockades. Such actions against Hong Kong or China, along with other hostile activities targeting them, took place in 2020, between July 1 and November 23, it added. The National Security Law, which punishes offences such as acts of subversion, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism, with terms of up to life in jail, was imposed by Beijing on the former British colony in 2020. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments say the law is necessary to restore stability following anti-government protests in 2019. But some Western governments have criticised it as being used to suppress free speech and dissent. Hong Kong authorities have once again arrested pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong and charged him with conspiracy to collude with a foreign country under a Beijing-imposed national security law. Wong, 28, was originally set to be released in January 2027 from a 56-month jail sentence he is serving under the same law for conspiracy to commit subversion after he participated in an unofficial primary election. Taken to the West Kowloon magistrates' courts, Wong faced a new charge of conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security. The former student pro-democracy activist, who wore a blue shirt and appeared noticeably thinner than before, replied, "Understand," when the clerk read out the charge and details of the offence. Wong did not apply for bail, and the case was adjourned to August 8. Before returning to custody, he waved, shrugged, and shook his head in the direction of the public gallery. In a statement, Hong Kong's national security police said they had arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of the offence, as well as for "dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence". A charge sheet seen by Reuters accuses Wong of having conspired with exiled activist Nathan Law and others to ask foreign countries, institutions, organisations, or individuals outside China to impose sanctions or blockades. Such actions against Hong Kong or China, along with other hostile activities targeting them, took place in 2020, between July 1 and November 23, it added. The National Security Law, which punishes offences such as acts of subversion, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism, with terms of up to life in jail, was imposed by Beijing on the former British colony in 2020. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments say the law is necessary to restore stability following anti-government protests in 2019. But some Western governments have criticised it as being used to suppress free speech and dissent. Hong Kong authorities have once again arrested pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong and charged him with conspiracy to collude with a foreign country under a Beijing-imposed national security law. Wong, 28, was originally set to be released in January 2027 from a 56-month jail sentence he is serving under the same law for conspiracy to commit subversion after he participated in an unofficial primary election. Taken to the West Kowloon magistrates' courts, Wong faced a new charge of conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security. The former student pro-democracy activist, who wore a blue shirt and appeared noticeably thinner than before, replied, "Understand," when the clerk read out the charge and details of the offence. Wong did not apply for bail, and the case was adjourned to August 8. Before returning to custody, he waved, shrugged, and shook his head in the direction of the public gallery. In a statement, Hong Kong's national security police said they had arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of the offence, as well as for "dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence". A charge sheet seen by Reuters accuses Wong of having conspired with exiled activist Nathan Law and others to ask foreign countries, institutions, organisations, or individuals outside China to impose sanctions or blockades. Such actions against Hong Kong or China, along with other hostile activities targeting them, took place in 2020, between July 1 and November 23, it added. The National Security Law, which punishes offences such as acts of subversion, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism, with terms of up to life in jail, was imposed by Beijing on the former British colony in 2020. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments say the law is necessary to restore stability following anti-government protests in 2019. But some Western governments have criticised it as being used to suppress free speech and dissent. Hong Kong authorities have once again arrested pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong and charged him with conspiracy to collude with a foreign country under a Beijing-imposed national security law. Wong, 28, was originally set to be released in January 2027 from a 56-month jail sentence he is serving under the same law for conspiracy to commit subversion after he participated in an unofficial primary election. Taken to the West Kowloon magistrates' courts, Wong faced a new charge of conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security. The former student pro-democracy activist, who wore a blue shirt and appeared noticeably thinner than before, replied, "Understand," when the clerk read out the charge and details of the offence. Wong did not apply for bail, and the case was adjourned to August 8. Before returning to custody, he waved, shrugged, and shook his head in the direction of the public gallery. In a statement, Hong Kong's national security police said they had arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of the offence, as well as for "dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence". A charge sheet seen by Reuters accuses Wong of having conspired with exiled activist Nathan Law and others to ask foreign countries, institutions, organisations, or individuals outside China to impose sanctions or blockades. Such actions against Hong Kong or China, along with other hostile activities targeting them, took place in 2020, between July 1 and November 23, it added. The National Security Law, which punishes offences such as acts of subversion, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism, with terms of up to life in jail, was imposed by Beijing on the former British colony in 2020. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments say the law is necessary to restore stability following anti-government protests in 2019. But some Western governments have criticised it as being used to suppress free speech and dissent.
The Advertiser
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'In ruins': Russia sees dim prospects for nuclear pact
Russia sees little chance of saving its last nuclear accord with the United States, due to expire in eight months, given the "ruined" state of relations with Washington, its top arms control official says. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also told TASS news agency US President Donald Trump's proposed Golden Dome missile defence project was a "deeply destabilising" factor creating formidable new obstacles to arms control. His comments were among Moscow's bleakest yet about the prospects for the New START agreement, the last remaining nuclear arms treaty between the two countries, which caps the number of strategic warheads that each side can deploy. President Vladimir Putin in 2023 suspended Russian participation in New START, blaming US support for Ukraine, although he said Moscow would remain within the treaty's limits on warheads, missiles and heavy bomber planes. But if the treaty is not extended or replaced after it expires on February 5 next year, security experts fear it could fuel a new arms race at a time of acute international tension over the conflict in Ukraine, which both Putin and Trump have said could lead to World War III. The Federation of American Scientists, an authoritative source on arms control, says if Russia decided to abandon the treaty limits, it could theoretically increase its deployed nuclear arsenal by up to 60 per cent by uploading hundreds of additional warheads. Ryabkov described Russia-US ties as "simply in ruins". "There are no grounds for a full-scale resumption of New START in the current circumstances. And given that the treaty ends its life cycle in about eight months, talking about the realism of such a scenario is increasingly losing its meaning," Ryabkov told TASS. "Of course, deeply destabilising program like the Golden Dome - and the US is implementing a number of them - create additional, hard-to-overcome obstacles to the constructive consideration of any potential initiatives in the field of nuclear missile arms control, when and if it comes to that." Trump said last month he had selected a design for the $US175-billion Golden Dome project, which aims to block threats from China and Russia by creating a network of satellites, perhaps numbering in the hundreds, to detect, track and potentially intercept incoming missiles. Ryabkov's comments came in the same week that Ukraine stunned Moscow by launching drone strikes on air bases deep inside Russia that house the heavy bomber planes that form part of its nuclear deterrent. Russia has said it will retaliate as and when its military sees fit. Russia sees little chance of saving its last nuclear accord with the United States, due to expire in eight months, given the "ruined" state of relations with Washington, its top arms control official says. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also told TASS news agency US President Donald Trump's proposed Golden Dome missile defence project was a "deeply destabilising" factor creating formidable new obstacles to arms control. His comments were among Moscow's bleakest yet about the prospects for the New START agreement, the last remaining nuclear arms treaty between the two countries, which caps the number of strategic warheads that each side can deploy. President Vladimir Putin in 2023 suspended Russian participation in New START, blaming US support for Ukraine, although he said Moscow would remain within the treaty's limits on warheads, missiles and heavy bomber planes. But if the treaty is not extended or replaced after it expires on February 5 next year, security experts fear it could fuel a new arms race at a time of acute international tension over the conflict in Ukraine, which both Putin and Trump have said could lead to World War III. The Federation of American Scientists, an authoritative source on arms control, says if Russia decided to abandon the treaty limits, it could theoretically increase its deployed nuclear arsenal by up to 60 per cent by uploading hundreds of additional warheads. Ryabkov described Russia-US ties as "simply in ruins". "There are no grounds for a full-scale resumption of New START in the current circumstances. And given that the treaty ends its life cycle in about eight months, talking about the realism of such a scenario is increasingly losing its meaning," Ryabkov told TASS. "Of course, deeply destabilising program like the Golden Dome - and the US is implementing a number of them - create additional, hard-to-overcome obstacles to the constructive consideration of any potential initiatives in the field of nuclear missile arms control, when and if it comes to that." Trump said last month he had selected a design for the $US175-billion Golden Dome project, which aims to block threats from China and Russia by creating a network of satellites, perhaps numbering in the hundreds, to detect, track and potentially intercept incoming missiles. Ryabkov's comments came in the same week that Ukraine stunned Moscow by launching drone strikes on air bases deep inside Russia that house the heavy bomber planes that form part of its nuclear deterrent. Russia has said it will retaliate as and when its military sees fit. Russia sees little chance of saving its last nuclear accord with the United States, due to expire in eight months, given the "ruined" state of relations with Washington, its top arms control official says. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also told TASS news agency US President Donald Trump's proposed Golden Dome missile defence project was a "deeply destabilising" factor creating formidable new obstacles to arms control. His comments were among Moscow's bleakest yet about the prospects for the New START agreement, the last remaining nuclear arms treaty between the two countries, which caps the number of strategic warheads that each side can deploy. President Vladimir Putin in 2023 suspended Russian participation in New START, blaming US support for Ukraine, although he said Moscow would remain within the treaty's limits on warheads, missiles and heavy bomber planes. But if the treaty is not extended or replaced after it expires on February 5 next year, security experts fear it could fuel a new arms race at a time of acute international tension over the conflict in Ukraine, which both Putin and Trump have said could lead to World War III. The Federation of American Scientists, an authoritative source on arms control, says if Russia decided to abandon the treaty limits, it could theoretically increase its deployed nuclear arsenal by up to 60 per cent by uploading hundreds of additional warheads. Ryabkov described Russia-US ties as "simply in ruins". "There are no grounds for a full-scale resumption of New START in the current circumstances. And given that the treaty ends its life cycle in about eight months, talking about the realism of such a scenario is increasingly losing its meaning," Ryabkov told TASS. "Of course, deeply destabilising program like the Golden Dome - and the US is implementing a number of them - create additional, hard-to-overcome obstacles to the constructive consideration of any potential initiatives in the field of nuclear missile arms control, when and if it comes to that." Trump said last month he had selected a design for the $US175-billion Golden Dome project, which aims to block threats from China and Russia by creating a network of satellites, perhaps numbering in the hundreds, to detect, track and potentially intercept incoming missiles. Ryabkov's comments came in the same week that Ukraine stunned Moscow by launching drone strikes on air bases deep inside Russia that house the heavy bomber planes that form part of its nuclear deterrent. Russia has said it will retaliate as and when its military sees fit. Russia sees little chance of saving its last nuclear accord with the United States, due to expire in eight months, given the "ruined" state of relations with Washington, its top arms control official says. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also told TASS news agency US President Donald Trump's proposed Golden Dome missile defence project was a "deeply destabilising" factor creating formidable new obstacles to arms control. His comments were among Moscow's bleakest yet about the prospects for the New START agreement, the last remaining nuclear arms treaty between the two countries, which caps the number of strategic warheads that each side can deploy. President Vladimir Putin in 2023 suspended Russian participation in New START, blaming US support for Ukraine, although he said Moscow would remain within the treaty's limits on warheads, missiles and heavy bomber planes. But if the treaty is not extended or replaced after it expires on February 5 next year, security experts fear it could fuel a new arms race at a time of acute international tension over the conflict in Ukraine, which both Putin and Trump have said could lead to World War III. The Federation of American Scientists, an authoritative source on arms control, says if Russia decided to abandon the treaty limits, it could theoretically increase its deployed nuclear arsenal by up to 60 per cent by uploading hundreds of additional warheads. Ryabkov described Russia-US ties as "simply in ruins". "There are no grounds for a full-scale resumption of New START in the current circumstances. And given that the treaty ends its life cycle in about eight months, talking about the realism of such a scenario is increasingly losing its meaning," Ryabkov told TASS. "Of course, deeply destabilising program like the Golden Dome - and the US is implementing a number of them - create additional, hard-to-overcome obstacles to the constructive consideration of any potential initiatives in the field of nuclear missile arms control, when and if it comes to that." Trump said last month he had selected a design for the $US175-billion Golden Dome project, which aims to block threats from China and Russia by creating a network of satellites, perhaps numbering in the hundreds, to detect, track and potentially intercept incoming missiles. Ryabkov's comments came in the same week that Ukraine stunned Moscow by launching drone strikes on air bases deep inside Russia that house the heavy bomber planes that form part of its nuclear deterrent. Russia has said it will retaliate as and when its military sees fit.
Herald Sun
2 hours ago
- Herald Sun
Barry FitzGerald: Katanning ticks all the boxes for an Ausgold re-rate
'Garimpeiro' columnist Barry FitzGerald has covered the resources industry for 35 years. Now he's sharing the benefits of his experience with Stockhead readers. After its dramatic rise in the opening months of the year to record levels, the Aussie gold price has settled into a bit of a groove around the $5,200/oz level. Nothing wrong with that. It's a fantastic price and delivers fat margins to even our highest cost gold mines. And it is not to suggest that gold can't take off again and set new highs or fall significantly for that matter. The observation is that for the last six weeks or so the Aussie price has been as steady as it could be in these turbulent times. It means that share prices of ASX-listed gold producers and developers have also gone into a sideways trading pattern. Need to differentiate So more than has been the case in recent times when gold took off to record levels, the producers and developers now need to differentiate themselves from the pack with strong newsflow of the re-rating inducing type. It means that if the gold price continues to trade sideways, the stock involved has a reason to go higher. Alternatively, if the gold price heads south, the damage to the stock could be more limited than it would have been otherwise. Taking all that on board, Garimpeiro had a look at his calendar during the week to find which of the gold producers/developers have re-rating event(s) on the horizon. Ausgold stands out Ausgold (ASX:AUC) stood out for the pending release this month of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) into the development of its Katanning gold project, a three-hour drive from Perth in WA's southwest Yilgarn region. Katanning is one of the biggest undeveloped gold deposits in the country at 3.04 million ounces and has previously been scoped as having the potential to produce 136,000 ounces annually from open-cut ore sources for more than 10 years. All-in sustaining costs were put at $A1,549 and preproduction capital costs weighed in at just under $300m. But those are 2023 figures and things will have changed, including the reserve component of the resource thanks to infill drilling work. Gold prices have increased dramatically since those 2023 figures but so have construction costs. Having said that, the expectation is that the DFS will confirm Katanning as a very robust project with a super quick capex payback capability. Take that and the scale of the project – production in the early years will be higher still because initial higher grade ores - and Ausgold's $240 million market cap at 67c share looks to be on the mean side of things. The company has the lowest resource ounce valuation metric of its peer group for no apparent reason, except perhaps the project has been in the works since 2010 under Ausgold ownership. So the story of the resource growth since, and the pending release of the DFS leading into a development decision by year end, has been overlooked to a large degree by the market on a fatigue basis alone. Katanning momentum Momentum for Katanning is now the order of the day under John Dorward, Ausgold's executive chairman who arrived on the scene in May last year. A can-do sort of guy, Dorward was the former president and CEO of TSX-listed Roxgold, a West African gold group acquired by fellow Canadian Fortuna Silver Mines in an all-scrip deal worth $US884 million in 2021. Two weeks in the job at Ausgold and Dorward put Katanning on the development pathway by pulling in $38 million in equity, including $1m from his own pocket. That is being spent getting to the DFS stage and on a three-pronged strategy of establishing a bigger mining reserve component in the mineral resource estimate, extending the scale of the resource and making regional gold discoveries. Morgans' 94c target Morgans' veteran analyst Chris Brown has a 12-month price target on the stock of 94c. 'Our expectation is that delivery of a DFS broadly confirming or improving on the preliminary feasibility study, and employing a higher gold price, should prove positive for the share price,' Brown said. He also flagged that a final investment decision on a project development – expected by the end of the year - should also prove positive depending on the terms of the project's financing package. ''Our valuation will likely lift with the delivery of the DFS, and again when the final investment decision is taken,'' Brown said. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the columnist and do not represent the views of Stockhead. Stockhead does not provide, endorse or otherwise assume responsibility for any financial product advice contained in this article. Originally published as Barry FitzGerald: Katanning ticks all the boxes for an Ausgold re-rate
