ASX to lift; US-China tensions, steel tariffs in focus
The Australian sharemarket will start the month on a positive note after US President Donald Trump indicated he would initiate talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping amid worsening trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.
ASX futures are pointing up 0.1 per cent, or 8 points, to 8465, predicting the Index will extend gains in to a third session.
The American president bounced back from a court ruling last week that tried to put a handbrake on his global trade war, launching a fresh attack on Beijing's trade agenda. Trump wrote in a social media post China had 'totally violated' the trade agreement reached between the two nations but later said he would speak to China's President Xi Jinping to settle differences.
Still, US equities reversed most of the session's early gains and closed lower. 'The US administration has been vocal about using tariffs as a source of revenue to support fiscal expansion… an environment of elevated tariffs will continue to be an essential part of equity markets going forward,' Principal Asset Management market strategist Christian Floro said.
Trump's announcement on Saturday that tariffs on foreign imports of steel would increase from 25 per cent to 50 per cent is also likely to unsettle investors before a US payroll report on Friday provides the latest indication of how US trade policy is impacting economic growth.
Market highlights
ASX futures are pointing up 0.1 per cent or 8 points to 8465.
All US prices near 5pm Sunday New York time:
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West Australian
32 minutes ago
- West Australian
Pacific media face reckoning after US aid cuts
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33 minutes ago
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34 minutes ago
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