ASX 200 futures were up 3 points or 0.03% at 8:30 am AEDT following US sharemarkets’ strong showing overnight and President Donald Trump’s announcement of a US-UK trade deal framework.
The agreement – the first the US had made with a trading partner since Trump announced his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs – outlined a trade pact that would eliminate 25% import tariffs on UK steel and aluminium and reduce tariffs on Britsh cars. In exchange, the UK agreed to lower its tariffs on US goods to 1.8% from 5.1% and improve market access for US goods, particularly in pharmaceuticals and machinery.
The news drove gains across Wall Street. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 5,664, the Dow Jones was up 0.6% to 41,368 and the Nasdaq climbed 1.1% to 17,928 as markets welcomed signs of easing trade tensions amid broader concerns about global protectionism.
Commodity pricing moves drive ASX
The Australian market was poised to open modestly higher, buoyed by the positive lead from US markets and hopes that the UK deal leads to further de-escalation in trade hostilities, including the potential of a favourable US-Australia deal.
The ASX 200 saw a positive Thursday session, up 0.16% to 8,191.7 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 0.26% to 8,421.7. Gains were led by gold stocks despite a lower gold price, with strong performances by Aurum Resources, Genesis Minerals and Southern Cross Gold.
Energy shares such as Santos Ltd and Karoon Energy Ltd today are poised to benefit from a surge in oil prices overnight, driven by optimism on US-China trade deal prospects.
In contrast, analysts warned gold shares such as Evolution Mining Ltd and Northern Star Resources could suffer after the US-UK trade deal caused the gold price to tumble overnight.
- WTI crude oil is up 3.7% to US$60.22 a barrel
- Brent crude oil is up 3.3% to US$63.15 a barrel
- Gold futures were down 2.5% to US$3,306 an ounce
- Spot gold was trading near US$3,306 at the US close
Other metal prices were mixed, with copper futures down 1.2% while aluminium futures increased 1.1%. Iron ore futures fell by 1.1% as traders weighed a potential weakening in demand against expectations of crude steel output cuts in China.
Currencies were weaker against the US dollar in European and US trade, with the Aussie dollar easing to US63.94 cents from US64.43 cents. It was near US64 cents at the US close.
The euro fell to US$1.1211 from US$1.1318 and was near US$1.1225 at the US close, while the Japanese yen fell to 145.95 yen per US dollar from 143.82 yen to US dollar.
Financial drag
Elsewhere, financial stocks weighed on the ASX, with ANZ shares dropping 1.93% despite reporting record revenue, as concerns over its declining net interest margin persisted.
Westpac also fell sharply, down 4.1% after going ex-dividend, while NAB rose 1.4% following the release of its first-half results.
Falling iron ore futures led to mixed performance from mining stocks.
Economic data and earnings ahead
Little is happening on the domestic data front today, but markets will keep a close eye on Chinese inflation and trade data due later this afternoon. Analysts expect a modest rebound in the CPI, which would further support Australian commodity exports if it points to stabilizing demand in the region.
Investors will also be watching as Macquarie Group Ltd releases its full-year results for the 2025 fiscal year, with a flat result expected following the underperformance of the investment bank’s Commodities and Global Markets and Macquarie Capital businesses.