The Australian sharemarket is set to jump over the 8600 point mark, entering new heights after investors monitoring trade discussions between the US and China drove stocks higher on Wall Street amid bets on easing tensions between the worldโs two economic superpowers.
ASX futures were up 24 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 8620 as of 6.59am AEST. The projected gains would come after the bourse hit an all-time high on Tuesday, buoyed by hopes for the high-level talks in London as officials had struck a positive tone after the first day of negotiations.
The Australian dollar was trading flat at 65.24 US cents as of 7.19am AEST.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said things were going โreally wellโ as he arrived for the second day of talks between China and the US. Financial markets are hopeful the negotiations will de-escalate the trade war.Credit: Bloomberg
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed 0.6 per cent higher as the talks between the worldโs two largest economies carried into a second day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6 per cent higher.
Stocks have roared higher since dropping roughly 20 per cent below their record two months ago, when President Donald Trump shocked financial markets with his announcement of stiff, wide-ranging tariffs. Much of the rally was due to hopes that Trump would lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with countries around the world, and the S&P 500 is back within 1.8 per cent of its all-time high, which was set in February.
Itโs getting to be time to see whether the hopes were warranted. The talks with China, which are likely covering a range of disagreements between the two countries, were โgoing well,โ US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday, adding he hoped they would end in the evening UK time โ but that they could stretch into a third day if necessary. A Treasury official said discussions were now centred on ironing out technical details.
โWeโre going to try to finish things, so thatโs the objective,โ Lutnick told reporters outside the meeting. โI think weโre working on all sorts of trade issues and I think the talks are going really, really well.โ
US and Chinese flags in the entrance during the trade talks at Lancaster House in London, UK.Credit: Bloomberg
Tom Essaye at research firm The Sevens Report, said that โany materially positive or negative trade talk headlines out of London where US and Chinese negotiations remain underway could meaningfully move markets todayโ before focus on Wall Street shifts to Americaโs inflation figures for May on Wednesday US time.
About The Author
