Good Evening,

Welcome to Equity Espresso’s Daily Market Recap. The ASX wrapped up its strongest weekly gain of the year with a big finish, as Trump's tariff tantrum shows signs of mellowing. Let’s jump in.

Local Market

The Australian sharemarket finished the holiday-shortened week with its strongest performance of the year as the S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.6% to close at 7,968.2, bringing its weekly gain to 2.3%. The positive sentiment was driven by growing speculation that U.S. President Trump might reconsider his punitive tariff measures on China, with reports from Reuters and The Wall Street Journal suggesting U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods might be reduced to between 50% and 65%.

Eight of 11 sectors finished in positive territory, with Healthcare (+1.22%) leading the way followed by Materials (+1.15%). Gold stocks rallied as prices rebounded, with Emerald Resources (+3.3%) and Newmont (+3.5%) posting strong gains despite the latter reporting a 19% fall in quarterly output.

Iron ore miners also advanced as prices approached US$100/t, with BHP (+0.9%) increasing. The Financial (+0.71%) sector extended its upward momentum throughout the session, with Westpac (+1.1%), ANZ (+1.6%) and Commonwealth Bank (+0.6%) all finishing in positive territory.

Oil stocks were the notable exception to the rally, declining as Brent crude hovered near a two-week low on reports that OPEC+ was considering further increasing supply. Woodside (-2%) fell to $20.01, dragging the energy sector lower.

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