6 days Ago By Adrian Black
Australian shares are on track for a second straight day of gains following a cautiously optimistic Wall Street session, after the US flagged further tariff exemptions. The S&P/ASX200 was up 34.1 points, or 0.
44 per cent by midday, to 7784.6, while the broader All Ordinaries had lifted 33.7 points, or 0.
42 per cent, to 7993.4. Overnight the S&P500 rose 0.
6 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.6 per cent, after US President Donald Trump announced tariff exclusions for smartphones and computers imported from China. He also hinted at a similar carve out for the auto industry.
"So while Trump continues negotiations and explores some tariff exemptions, and 30 companies from the S&P 500 have already reported mostly better-than-expected results, the safe havens (the US dollar and bond yields) continue to fall, while investors feel more confident to tiptoe back into shares," Moomoo market analyst Jessica Amir said. Despite the temporary reprieve from last week's wild volatility, the odds of a US or global recession are still at 60 per cent, according to JP Morgan. Financials stocks were lifting the local bourse higher, up 1.
1 per cent, one of six sectors trading higher by midday. Commonwealth Bank was leading the big four, up 1.4 per cent, as Westpac rose 1.
3 per cent, NAB gained 0.7 per cent and ANZ eked out a 0.2 per cent rise.
Materials were up 0.2 per cent, helped by a 0.5 per cent boost to BHP as the iron ore price rose overnight, while a handful for copper and rare earth miners carved out places in the S&P/ASX200's top-10 performers.
Energy stocks were up 0.3 per cent, tracking with a 0.4 per cent lift in oil prices as talks of auto tariff exemptions boosted crude demand expectations.
Brent crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.42 per cent, to $US65.15.
IT stocks were among the worst performers on Tuesday, down 0.5 per cent at noon, handing back some of Monday's 2.6 per cent, market-leading rally as investors weighed the US electronics tariff exemption against a likely semiconductor import duty.
Consumer discretionary stocks were down 0.6 per cent, tracking with a similar fall in Bunnings and Kmart owner, Wesfarmers. Restaurant chain owner Collins Foods is down 1.
7 per cent after announcing it will exit Taco Bell to focus on its KFC stores, after failing to compete with local Mexican fast food play Guzman y Gomez, which is up 0.2 per cent. The Reserve Bank's April meeting minutes have given no hint to the board's next move on interest rates, and noted risks to both growth and inflation in the outlook.
"While the available information suggested that the strategy was on track, members agreed that it was not yet possible to determine the timing of the next move in interest rates," the board wrote. The Australian dollar is trading almost flat against the greenback, buying 63.33 US cents, up from 63.
31 US cents on Monday at 5pm. The Aussie is slightly stronger against the US dollar than immediately before the 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement, but it has underperformed other major currencies over the same period..
