ASX set to rise as Wall Street advances
The S&P 500 was 0.6 per cent higher in afternoon trading and above its all-time high set on Thursday. The Dow Jones was up 217 points, or 0.5 per cent, in mid-afternoon trade, and the Nasdaq composite was adding 0.7 per cent to its own record. The Australian sharemarket is set to rise, with futures at 4.51am AEST pointing to a gain of 24 points, or 0.3 per cent, at the open. The ASX lost 1 per cent on Monday.
The Australian dollar is stronger. It was 0.3 per cent higher at 65.27 US cents at 5.07am.
On Wall Street, Verizon Communications helped lead the way and rose 4.8 per cent. The telecom reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, along with higher revenue than forecast. Following the strong performance, Verizon raised its forecasts for profit and other financial measures for the full year.
That helped offset a 4.2 per cent drop for Sarepta Therapeutics, which continued to fall after the Food and Drug Administration said Friday it asked the company to voluntarily stop all shipments of its gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy due to safety concerns.
Block, Jack Dorsey's company behind Square, Cash App and other tech brands, jumped 8 per cent in its first trading after learning it will join the widely followed and imitated S&P 500 index. It will take the place of Hess, which Chevron bought, before trading begins on Wednesday.
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Cleveland-Cliffs rallied 13.6 per cent after the steel producer reported a smaller loss for the spring than analysts expected. It shipped a record 4.3 million net tonnes of steel during the quarter, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said the company has begun to see 'the positive impact that tariffs have on domestic manufacturing' and other things.
It's a major supplier to the auto industry, and Trump's tariffs steer companies hoping to sell cars in the United States toward steel made in the country.
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News.com.au
27 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Trump punishes Brazil with tariffs, sanctions over trial of ally Bolsonaro
President Donald Trump ordered massive tariffs on Brazil Wednesday and sanctions against the judge overseeing a trial of his far-right ally Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of attempting a coup in Latin America's biggest economy. The announcement saw Trump make good on a threat to wield American economic might to punish Brazil -- and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in particular -- for what he has termed a "witch hunt" against former president Bolsonaro. Unlike the tariffs Trump is slapping on economies around the world, the measures against Brazil have been framed in openly political terms, sweeping aside centuries-old trade ties and a surplus that Brasilia put at $284 million last year. The moves dramatically increased the pressure on Moraes, who has emerged as one of the most powerful and polarizing people in Brazil -- and a consistent thorn in the far-right's side, after clashing repeatedly with Bolsonaro and others over disinformation. The Brazilian government's "politically motivated persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and prosecution of (Bolsonaro) and thousands of his supporters are serious human rights abuses that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil," the White House said in a fact sheet announcing the tariffs. It also cited Brazil's "unusual and extraordinary policies and actions harming U.S. companies, the free speech rights of U.S. persons, U.S. foreign policy, and the U.S. economy," and singled out Moraes by name. It did not state what date the tariffs would come into effect, but Trump had previously cited August 1. The new duties were announced shortly after the US Treasury slapped sanctions on Moraes, which followed a similar move by the State Department earlier this month. The sanctions provoked a swift and furious response from Brasilia, where Attorney General Jorge Messias slammed them as "arbitrary," "unjustifiable" and "a serious attack on the sovereignty of our country." There was no immediate reaction from Brasilia to the tariffs announcement, but President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had earlier denounced Trump's threats as "unacceptable blackmail." Bolsonaro is on trial for allegedly plotting a coup to stay in power after losing the 2022 election to leftist Lula. He risks up to 40 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors say the plot included a plan to arrest and even assassinate Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and Moraes. Brazil has insisted it will proceed in its prosecution of Bolsonaro, and Trump's intervention in the case has so far improved Lula's popularity, as the Brazilian leader appeals for national unity in the face of US "interference." - 'Witch hunt' - Both Marco Rubio, America's top diplomat, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued statements Wednesday announcing the new sanctions against Moraes. "Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against US and Brazilian citizens and companies," Bessent said. Rubio, the secretary of state, accused Moraes of "serious human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention involving flagrant denials of fair trial guarantees and infringing on the freedom of expression." Moraes, 56, has played a controversial role in fighting disinformation. He was an omnipresent figure during the polarizing 2022 election campaign, aggressively using his rulings to fight election disinformation on social media. That included blocking the accounts of some prominent conservative figures. Last year, he ordered the shutdown of tech titan Elon Musk's X network in Brazil for 40 days for failing to tackle the spread of disinformation shared mainly by Bolsonaro backers. Bolsonaro has called Moraes a dictator, while his son Eduardo, an MP, had lobbied for US sanctions against the "totalitarian" judge. On Wednesday Eduardo Bolsonaro said the US action was "not about revenge, it's about justice." "Abuses of authority now have global consequences," he wrote on X. Trump's private media company has also sued Moraes over his social media-related orders. The US Treasury cited the Magnitsky Act for the sanctions. It freezes US-based assets and bars travel to the country for foreign officials accused of human rights abuses or corruption.


The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
US imposes 50 per cent tariff on copper imports: Trump
US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation ordering 50 per cent tariffs on certain copper imports, citing national security, the White House says. The proclamation imposes a 50 per cent tariff on semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products as of August 1, according to a fact sheet released by the White House. The tariffs will exclude copper scrap and copper input materials such as copper ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes and anodes, the statement said. The measure came after a US investigation under Section 232, which US President Donald Trump ordered in February. Along with tariffs, the order calls for steps to support the domestic copper industry, including requiring 25 per cent of high-quality scrap produced in the US to also be sold within the country. US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation ordering 50 per cent tariffs on certain copper imports, citing national security, the White House says. The proclamation imposes a 50 per cent tariff on semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products as of August 1, according to a fact sheet released by the White House. The tariffs will exclude copper scrap and copper input materials such as copper ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes and anodes, the statement said. The measure came after a US investigation under Section 232, which US President Donald Trump ordered in February. Along with tariffs, the order calls for steps to support the domestic copper industry, including requiring 25 per cent of high-quality scrap produced in the US to also be sold within the country. US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation ordering 50 per cent tariffs on certain copper imports, citing national security, the White House says. The proclamation imposes a 50 per cent tariff on semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products as of August 1, according to a fact sheet released by the White House. The tariffs will exclude copper scrap and copper input materials such as copper ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes and anodes, the statement said. The measure came after a US investigation under Section 232, which US President Donald Trump ordered in February. Along with tariffs, the order calls for steps to support the domestic copper industry, including requiring 25 per cent of high-quality scrap produced in the US to also be sold within the country. US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation ordering 50 per cent tariffs on certain copper imports, citing national security, the White House says. The proclamation imposes a 50 per cent tariff on semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products as of August 1, according to a fact sheet released by the White House. The tariffs will exclude copper scrap and copper input materials such as copper ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes and anodes, the statement said. The measure came after a US investigation under Section 232, which US President Donald Trump ordered in February. Along with tariffs, the order calls for steps to support the domestic copper industry, including requiring 25 per cent of high-quality scrap produced in the US to also be sold within the country.


Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
US imposes 50 per cent tariff on copper imports: Trump
US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation ordering 50 per cent tariffs on certain copper imports, citing national security, the White House says. The proclamation imposes a 50 per cent tariff on semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products as of August 1, according to a fact sheet released by the White House. The tariffs will exclude copper scrap and copper input materials such as copper ores, concentrates, mattes, cathodes and anodes, the statement said. The measure came after a US investigation under Section 232, which US President Donald Trump ordered in February. Along with tariffs, the order calls for steps to support the domestic copper industry, including requiring 25 per cent of high-quality scrap produced in the US to also be sold within the country.