Live market updates: ASX set for strong gains as Wall St ekes out fresh record

While the S&P 500 eked out a fresh high, it wasn’t smooth sailing for all major companies on the market.

“Tariff impacts are now starting to be felt and reported by firms,” noted NAB’s Tapas Strickland in the bank’s morning note.

“GM shares fell -8.1% after it reported a $US1.1bn tariff hit as it absorbed most of the tariff increases as it waits for the finalisation of trade deals with South Korea, Canada and Mexico before making firmer decisions.

“GM expects a greater tariff hit in coming quarters, and it is worth noting GM imports around half of the vehicles it sells in the US.”

At $US48.49, GM shares are about midway between where they were pre-“liberation day” and the low point they reached following Donald Trump’s shock tariff announcements on April 2.

While there is increasing optimism that America’s trade war with China will be kicked down the road a bit further, senior Trump administration officials such as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are making strong noises that the August 1 deadline won’t be shifted for most countries.

“Tariffs remain front and centre ahead of August 1 and August 12,” noted Strickland.

“Bessent indicated that the August 12 deadline for China is likely to be extended: ‘China, that deal expires on Aug. 12 and I’m going to be in Stockholm on Monday and Tuesday with my Chinese counterparts. And we’ll be working out what is likely an extension then’.

“A US-Philippines deal was also unveiled, and last week’s US-Indonesia was confirmed, both at a 19% tariff rates. Tariffs so far appear to be settling around 20% which is at the higher end of the post-Liberation Day expectations.”

So, absolutely nothing to worry about then …

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#ICYMI yesterday arvo, I had a story on the RBA minutes.

They were worth reading as they outlined more detail about the reasons for the split in votes between the majority of six who opted to hold and the minority of three who wanted to cut rates.

Last meeting was the first time that the Reserve Bank has published the voting numbers on its monetary policy decision.

Previously, the media had generally been left under the impression that decisions were reached by consensus, although I understand this has not been the case at many meetings and the Reserve Bank Act 1959 requires a vote to be taken.

However, the act does not specify any requirements around minuting that vote, and it seems the RBA doesn’t.

A Freedom of Information request by my colleague Ben Butler for a document “recording the names of the Monetary Policy Board members who voted a) for and b) against the decision of the board to leave the cash target rate unchanged at its meeting on 8 July 2025” was met with the following response from RBA secretary Anthony Dickman.

“We have undertaken a search of our records and have not been able to identify any documents relevant to your request,” he responded.

“No document was created that recorded by name any vote cast by members of the Monetary Policy Board.“

So, not only does the RBA refuse to publish an attributed record of the vote, as does the US Federal Reserve or Bank of England, but it doesn’t even bother to note for its own records who voted which way.

Good morning, and welcome to another day on the markets.

I’ll be taking you through the morning before Emily Stewart joins you for the afternoon.

It was a pretty quiet night on Wall Street, with the major themes of recent days dominating — trade talks and discussion over Fed chair Jerome Powell’s future.

On both fronts, the news was seen as mildly positive.

Trade deals have been reached between the US and both Indonesia and the Philippines, according to President Donald Trump, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent raised the possibility that an August 12 deadline to reach a China trade deal could be extended.

Bessent also said the relationship between the US and China was in a “very good place”, while President Trump has indicated he may soon visit China to meet with his counterpart there Xi Jinping.

The US Treasury secretary also stated that Fed chair Jerome Powell should be able to see out his term (which ends in May next year) if he wants to, providing markets further comfort that the administration won’t try to remove him early.

Combined with a slew of company earnings results, the news flow was enough to see the S&P 500 edge 0.1% higher to a fresh record of 6,310 points, although the Nasdaq eased 0.4% to 20,893.

Load up the caffeine, put on some Black Sabbath (vale Ozzy), and let’s…

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