The Australian sharemarket lifted on Tuesday following a day of relative calm on Wall Street after US President Donald Trump said that he was considering delaying tariffs on automotive imports, lifting hopes for a softer approach to his trade agenda.

The S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2 per cent, or by 13.3 points to 7761.9 points, in early trading, extending Monday’s more than 1 per cent gain. The All Ordinaries edged up 0.2 per cent. Eight of 11 sectors were in the green, led by consumer staples.

Stocks and bonds rose in unison amid some cautious optimism on Wall Street. All three US indexes posted minor gains, with the S&P 500 rising as much as 1.8 per cent in early trading as investors greeted a tariff pause on certain electronic imports such as iPhones as a welcome development for technology stocks. Apple, which relies on Chinese factories to manufacture its devices, closed up 2.2 per cent.

Trump said he is exploring possible temporary exemptions to his tariffs on imported vehicles – days after the White House said certain electronics goods would be temporarily excluded from import taxes. Capital Economics markets economist Giulia Bellicoso said investors needed more certainty to spark a more sustained rally in equities.

“The range of plausible outcomes has widened,” she said. “Given that both US equities and the dollar still look relatively overvalued on the longer-term basis, further US policy uncertainty may reduce the appeal of US assets further – and lead to renewed drawdowns.”

In Australia, investors sought defensive stocks with consumer staples plays Coles and A2 Milk adding 1 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively. Miners also extended gains on ongoing strength in the iron ore price as traders remain cautiously optimistic about a US-China trade deal. Iron ore giant BHP edged up 1.1 per cent.

Technology stocks bucked gains in US tech plays as WiseTech shot down 2.2 per cent and TechnologyOne 1.6 per cent.

Stocks on the move

In corporate news, Collins Foods dipped 2.5 per cent after announcing it would exit Taco Bell in Australia amid a slew of operational changes announced by the restaurant chain owner.

Perpetual slipped 1.8 per cent after its net outflows more than doubled in the third quarter to $8.9 billion, as investors pulled money from global and US funds and its cash position weighed.

Accent Group advanced 2.5 per cent after announcing it would launch UK-based sports retailer Sports Direct in Australia and New Zealand under a new partnership struck with its London-listed parent Frasers Group.

Presdient of Orora’s beverages division Simon Bromwell will join Bapcor later this month amid a wider restructure of the auto parts maker’s business. The former dropped 1.4 per cent and Bapcor 0.3 per cent.

And Amplitude Energy rose 2.9 per cent said planned maintenance work at two major gas plants remained on track after the shutdowns drove a 9 per cent drop in quarterly output.