The Australian sharemarket started the week on a positive note, fuelled by a rally in banks and mining stocks after tariff exemptions for the technology industry spurred optimism for a further scaling back of US President Donald Trump’s chaotic trade agenda.
The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 102.1 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 7748.6 points at the close. The All Ordinaries was up 1.4 per cent. Ten of 11 sectors were higher, with technology posting the largest gains.
A rally in banks and mining stocks gathered momentum through the session. Iron ore stocks tracked a rise in the price of the steelmaking ingredient, buoyed by hopes for a China-US trade deal. Index bellwether BHP jumped 2.7 per cent to $36.37 and Mineral Resources 8.2 per cent to $18.04. Australia’s four big banks all rose more than 1 per cent, led by Commonwealth Bank, up 1.7 per cent to $157.29, and Westpac, up 1.6 per cent to $30.51.
Equities and US futures rose after the Trump administration on Friday (Saturday AEST) published a list of electronics goods that would be excluded from import taxes, including computer hardware and smartphones. While it was welcome news for technology manufacturers such as Apple and Nvidia, the White House later confirmed that the exclusion was only temporary until it introduces a new tariff specific to semiconductors. China pressed the US to revoke the levies further.
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