The ASX 200 has zig-zagged as investors brace for Donald Trump’s 90-day tariff pause to end this week and await another cut from the RBA.
Materials companies led the charge in the first 45 minutes of trading on Monday with Origin Energy jumping 5.7 per cent and Bellevue Gold adding 5.4 per cent while finance company HUB24 has added about two per cent per cent.
Gold producer Northern Star fell six per cent after its latest production report showed growth towards the bottom end of its forecast.
Investors await Trump’s 90-day pause on his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs to finish on July 9 as major US trading partners rush to secure deals to avoid hefty levies.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled some countries without an agreement by the deadline could secure a three-week extension to negotiate further.
Investors also await the Reserve Bank of Australia’s upcoming cash rate call where the central bank is tipped to deliver the third rate cut of 2025.
This could mark the first consecutive cut since the RBA delivered an emergency cut in March 2020.
The Nasdaq grew one per cent on Friday while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones both rose 0.8 per cent.
London’s FTSE 250 Index fell 0.7 per cent, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.6 per cent and the STOXX Europe 600 shed 0.5 per cent.
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index sank before almost recovering its losses on Monday while Japan’s Nikkei 225 has slumped 0.3 per cent.
