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The ASX 200 performed well on Wednesday, considering US NASDAQ Futures were down over 2% by 4pm AEST, courtesy of poor news from both sides of the Atlantic before the respective bourses even opened. Global Tech stocks sank on a one-two of bad news for tech goliaths Nvidia and ASML, the last thing the embattled semiconductor sector needed.
The ASX200 tried hard to rally throughout the session shrugging off early weakness in S&P500 futures as tech giant Nvidia announced new licensing requirements for US chipmakers exporting to China could cost the firm $US8bn a quarter causing the stock to trade down ~6% in after-hours trade.
Yesterday, we heard the minutes of the RBA’s April board meeting, which was notably held two days before “Liberation Day”. The very clear message at the time was they were looking to cut interest rates in May.
Local stocks rose for the second straight session, with banks up early and maintaining, after an impressive start to reporting season by their U.S counterparts. President Trump indicated a temporary reprieve from tariffs on imported vehicles and parts providing incremental hope that tariffs will be paused or adjusted in other areas.
The ASX200 surged over 100 points on Monday, taking a positive lead after President Trump paused import duties on various consumer electronics. However, he warned markets on Sunday that tariffs are still coming in a social media post shortly after he finished his Sunday golf game: “NOBODY is getting off the hook”.
The ASX shot out of the gates, far above the slated +18pt rise indicated by SPI futures pre-market, +60pts on the open and grinding another +40pts higher slowly but surely over the day, as 10 out of 11 sectors finished in positive territory. The market took U.S President Donald Trump’s move to exempt selected consumer electronics from tariffs as a signal of willingness to be somewhat flexible and practical with his policies and negotiations more broadly.
President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that smartphones, computers, and other electronics would be exempted from his reciprocal tariffs. This represents a significant reprieve for global technology manufacturers, including Apple (AAPL US) and Nvidia (NVDA US), whose shares had plunged over 25% at their worst since late March.
Last week’s wild gyrations on Wall Street shook investor confidence, but amazingly, US stocks wiped out early losses to deliver their best weekly gain since 2023. The Fear Index (VIX) spiked towards 60 on Monday before dropping to about 37 on Friday afternoon as relative calm returned to markets—a good sign into the weekend when posts can fly on X.
Risk-off sentiment spilled over from overseas markets as the ASX gapped down -180pts on the open despite SPI futures indicating a less severe -115pt drop. Investors flocked to safe haven gold as the precious metal hit yet another all-time high above $US3100, with heavy selling in the growthier end of the market kicking things off.
The ASX 200 surged +4.5% on Thursday, delivering its best day since the GFC. At the opening bell, 199 of the ASX200 were higher, and even though the market drifted slightly from its euphoria-driven open by the end of the day, 199 stocks still closed higher.
