The Australian stock market bounced back on Tuesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index finishing up 2.3 percent, or 166.7 points, to 7510 points. This marks the market’s most substantial gain since November 2022, helping to recoup some of Monday’s 4.2 percent slump triggered by China’s retaliatory tariffs on the US. The All Ordinaries also jumped 2.4 percent.
US futures pointed to some relief on Tuesday after volatility gripped Wall Street overnight, with the benchmark S&P 500 trading in a more than 410-point range. Asset prices swung as US President Donald Trump threatened additional 50 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, while Beijing responded by saying it would “resolutely take countermeasures. Despite the rally, Andrew Dale, a partner at ECP Asset Management, cautioned that Australian equities were unlikely to head into a sustained rally, stating, “We see a little bit of a relief rally, but there’s nothing that I’m seeing in the macro data or economically that would enable one to take the view that [the sell-off] is now all over, and we’re off to the races.
All 11 sectors finished higher on the ASX, with energy, mining, and technology stocks rebounding from heavy losses in the previous session. WiseTech jumped 5 percent to $80.35, while Afterpay added 8 percent to close at $18.07.
ASX recoups losses in turbulent trade
Payments provider Tyro also gained 6.7 percent, closing at $1.27 after announcing an on-market buyback of up to $50 million. The energy sector led the rally, with oil and gas explorer Santos adding 5.4 percent to close at $5.66. Miners also recovered despite a weaker iron ore price, with BHP advancing 2.3 percent to $35.38 and Fortescue Metals Group rising 3.5 percent to $14.82.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining tracked a recovery in the gold price, adding 5 percent to $6.76. Banks also saw a late rally, led by Commonwealth Bank, which closed up 2.8 percent at $148.46. The Australian dollar edged back above US60¢ after nearing a five-year low overnight.
In corporate news, Mexican-style food chain Guzman y Gomez advanced 3.7 percent to $31.10, stating it is on track to pay its first-ever dividend after posting strong sales growth in the third quarter. Pro Medicus jumped 6.4 percent to $188.14 after Barrenjoey upgraded the imaging software play to “overweight.”
