The ASX200 struggled on Monday, failing to embrace a strong opening by the US S&P 500 futures after the US and China reported “substantial progress” after two days of talks in Switzerland aimed at de-escalating the worrying trade war. The main board opened strongly up almost 50 points before drifting lower throughout the session to finish basically unchanged as optimism around trade succumbed to caution.
Senior US and Chinese negotiators resumed the high-stakes talks on Sunday in an attempt to de-escalate their trade war/embargo. President Donald Trump called Saturday's discussions a “very good” meeting. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng were leading the negotiations expected to span two days in Switzerland, the first publicised, in-person talks since President Donald Trump imposed 145% levies on China and Beijing retaliated with 125% tariffs on many American goods and new export controls on rare earth minerals.
The ASX200 embraced the rumours that Trump's much-awaited “good news” was a trade deal with the UK, which, on top of the previous day’s announcement that the US and China would sit down and talk this week in Switzerland, was enough to lift the local index up +0.16% after a soft opening.
The ASX 200 lived in the future rather than the past on Wednesday, ignoring a weak overnight session on Wall Street, instead focusing on the fresh news that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and top trade official Jamieson Greer would meet with their Chinese counterparts this week in Switzerland.
The ASX200 slipped 0.1% on Tuesday, posting its second consecutive negative session, although it's hardly made a dent in the aggressive 15% recovery from the early April panic lows. Trading was relatively subdued with fund managers focused on the Macquarie Australia Conference, which is often regarded as an early confession opportunity. Results were mixed on Tuesday, but the presentations continue to move markets as investors look for clues around what comes next, outside of the chatter around Trump and the weekend Federal Election.
The ASX200 struggled on Monday following a mildly softer report from Westpac (WBC), the first influential bank to face the music this month. Their headline first-half miss on profit, a flat dividend (76c) when the market was looking for an increase and a slight net interest margin (NIM) contraction sent the 4th largest stock on the bourse down 3% on the day.
The S&P 500 has extended its post “Liberation Day” rally to the longest winning streak in two decades, with worries around tariffs being replaced by “Fear of Missing Out” (FOMO) for cashed-up investors. A strong jobs report on Friday compounded optimism that the US and China’s dialogue around tariffs would prove fruitful.
Different month, same ASX200, the local market opened down before slowly climbing higher throughout the day to ultimately end the session up +0.2%, near the intraday high. The tech sector led the gains, surging over 4% following strong results overnight from Meta Platforms (META US) and Microsoft (MSFT US) – more on the AI & Data Centre stocks later. It was the sixth consecutive daily gain for the ASX200, although it was the weakest session since the advance began, and some consolidation is feeling close at hand.
The ASX 200 popped higher in the last hour of April trade, taking the local index up 3.6% for the month. This has been a dramatic and impressive turnaround considering the carnage following “Liberation Day.” Similarly, global stocks were sitting up +0.5% ahead of overnight trade with the US reporting season set to take the markets' focus, at least for a week or two.
The ASX200 rallied strongly throughout Tuesday, hardly taking a backwards step all day to close up +0.9% on broad-based buying that saw almost 90% of the main board close higher. Local stocks are benefiting from some overseas money finding its way into the ASX, which has outperformed the US in 2025, although a few months doesn’t make a year.
Senior US and Chinese negotiators resumed the high-stakes talks on Sunday in an attempt to de-escalate their trade war/embargo. President Donald Trump called Saturday's discussions a “very good” meeting. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng were leading the negotiations expected to span two days in Switzerland, the first publicised, in-person talks since President Donald Trump imposed 145% levies on China and Beijing retaliated with 125% tariffs on many American goods and new export controls on rare earth minerals.
The ASX200 embraced the rumours that Trump's much-awaited “good news” was a trade deal with the UK, which, on top of the previous day’s announcement that the US and China would sit down and talk this week in Switzerland, was enough to lift the local index up +0.16% after a soft opening.
The ASX 200 lived in the future rather than the past on Wednesday, ignoring a weak overnight session on Wall Street, instead focusing on the fresh news that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and top trade official Jamieson Greer would meet with their Chinese counterparts this week in Switzerland.
The ASX200 slipped 0.1% on Tuesday, posting its second consecutive negative session, although it's hardly made a dent in the aggressive 15% recovery from the early April panic lows. Trading was relatively subdued with fund managers focused on the Macquarie Australia Conference, which is often regarded as an early confession opportunity. Results were mixed on Tuesday, but the presentations continue to move markets as investors look for clues around what comes next, outside of the chatter around Trump and the weekend Federal Election.
The ASX200 struggled on Monday following a mildly softer report from Westpac (WBC), the first influential bank to face the music this month. Their headline first-half miss on profit, a flat dividend (76c) when the market was looking for an increase and a slight net interest margin (NIM) contraction sent the 4th largest stock on the bourse down 3% on the day.
The S&P 500 has extended its post “Liberation Day” rally to the longest winning streak in two decades, with worries around tariffs being replaced by “Fear of Missing Out” (FOMO) for cashed-up investors. A strong jobs report on Friday compounded optimism that the US and China’s dialogue around tariffs would prove fruitful.
Different month, same ASX200, the local market opened down before slowly climbing higher throughout the day to ultimately end the session up +0.2%, near the intraday high. The tech sector led the gains, surging over 4% following strong results overnight from Meta Platforms (META US) and Microsoft (MSFT US) – more on the AI & Data Centre stocks later. It was the sixth consecutive daily gain for the ASX200, although it was the weakest session since the advance began, and some consolidation is feeling close at hand.
The ASX 200 popped higher in the last hour of April trade, taking the local index up 3.6% for the month. This has been a dramatic and impressive turnaround considering the carnage following “Liberation Day.” Similarly, global stocks were sitting up +0.5% ahead of overnight trade with the US reporting season set to take the markets' focus, at least for a week or two.
The ASX200 rallied strongly throughout Tuesday, hardly taking a backwards step all day to close up +0.9% on broad-based buying that saw almost 90% of the main board close higher. Local stocks are benefiting from some overseas money finding its way into the ASX, which has outperformed the US in 2025, although a few months doesn’t make a year.
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