Australian Shares Steady Amidst Lingering Trump Tariff Concerns – Uncover the Impact on Your Investments!
On December 2nd, Australian shares remained stable, staying near last week’s record highs, as investors expressed concerns over the impacts of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff plans on Chinese imports, which could affect the domestic mining sector. The S&P/ASX 200 index increased slightly by 0.1%, closing at 8,447.90, just 29 points below its all-time high from November 28th.
Miners achieved minor gains, spurred by rising iron ore futures following positive Chinese factory data, though growth was limited by demand uncertainties. Australia’s economy heavily depends on commodity exports to China, and Trump’s tariffs might threaten this demand, potentially impacting local miners negatively, according to Saxo Asia Pacific’s Junvum Kim.
Sector giants BHP Group and Rio Tinto saw gains of 0.4% and 0.9%, respectively. Meanwhile, gold stocks fell by 1.6% as bullion prices dropped. Despite this trend, De Grey Mining surged around 29% after receiving a buyout offer from Northern Star Resources, valuing it at A$5 billion. De Grey was the top performer on the index, while Northern Star dropped 5.3%, detracting from the overall index.
Heavily weighted financial stocks ended slightly lower, with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia declining by 0.3%. In positive news, retail sales in Australia increased for the third consecutive month in October, suggesting that the central bank might not rush to cut interest rates due to inflation staying below target.
In contrast, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose by 0.4% to close at 13,114.68. This roundup was produced from an automated news agency feed.
Original Story https://www.livemint.com/news/world/australian-shares-steady-trump-tariff-concerns-linger-11733119301632.html
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