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Australian shares are expected to plunge sharply again when the market opens Wednesday, with ASX 200 futures pointing to a 1.1% nosedive to 7,810 points.
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Yet again, it’s mostly down to Donald Trump – the U.S. President has today declared there would be “no exceptions or exemptions” when it comes to his aggressive tariffs; Canada is even having its levies hiked up, to 50%.
That comes at the same time that Trump again spruiked his “51st State” idea for Canada.
Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt has also said Australia will not be exempt. This means U.S. steel and aluminium tariffs will impact exports from Down Under from today.
The only thing that’s really stopped things from worsening on Wednesday was some positive news from Ukraine: The besieged European country has agreed to accept a 30-day ceasefire with Russia that would take effect immediately.
How long that holds off the red tide remains to be seen today, though.
Back home, the Albanese government is rushing to “discuss” the tariffs with U.S. powerbrokers, especially around steel and aluminium; companies in the Materials sector may see a slightly harsher downturn than others today.
Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) is now on the cash-raising grind as it looks to fill the coffers before its Arcadium Lithium (ASX:LTM) buyout. Suggestions are the world’s second-biggest miner wants $14 billion to see the deal through.
HotCopper forums are already closely watching Great Boulder (ASX:GBR) after the Western Australian miner found “thick, high-grade” gold with its Eaglehawk drilling.
Similarly, Nickel Industries (ASX:NIC) may be heavily discussed – and closely followed – today after the pure-play nickel producer shaved as much as 25% in value after a leading shareholder dumped stock below asking price through Tuesday.
Pioneer Lithium (ASX:PLN) also found a new helmsman in Petratherm’s Michael Beven.
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Together: The U.S. has suspended aid to Ukraine. Will Europe step into the breach?
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Looking at forex, the Aussie dollar is buying 62.9 US cents.
To commodities, which are in the greenback,
Iron Ore has advanced 0.5% to $100.45 a tonne in Singapore,
Brent Crude is trading at $69.83,
Gold is trading at $2,933 per ounce, and,
US natgas futures are at $4.34 per gigajoule.
That’s Market Open, I’m Isaac McIntyre, stick with us for HotCopper’s Market Update.
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