The Australian share market has rebounded after a last-minute delay to US ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs sent equities surging overnight.

The S&P/ASX200 has rallied 347.2 points, or 4.71 per cent, to 7723, as the All Ordinaries shot up 359.7 points, or 4.76 per cent, to 7921.4.

The bounce came after a dramatic Wall Street rally overnight, the S&P500 surging 9.5 per cent higher, its best daily result since the global financial crisis in 2008, as the tech heavy Nasdaq jumped 12.2 per cent.

“Just like that, US President Donald Trump paused higher tariffs on most countries for 90 days and investors jumped back into stocks, gold and oil, selling out of bonds,” Moomoo market analyst Jessica Amir said.

The US excluded China from the break and instead increased tariffs on Beijing to 125 per cent, after China lifted its impost on US goods to 84 per cent from 34 per cent hours earlier.

The U-turn is believed to be a response to dislocation in bond markets as yields surged and confidence in US treasuries began to falter.

“While Trump appeared willing to look through equity market losses, the overnight backflip shows that the bond market remains the ultimate master of markets and politicians alike by virtue of its role as the “plumbing” of the financial system,” IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore said.

All 11 local sectors were trading higher, led by a 6.8 per cent rally in IT stocks, as materials surged 6.3 per cent and energy stocks jumped 5.8 per cent.

Iron ore and mixed miners helped lift the bourse, with BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue rising more than 5.8 per cent each, after iron ore futures spiked as much as five per cent overnight on the tariff backflip.

Woodside and Santos rose 6.2 and 5.4 per cent after oil prices spiked more than 10 per cent before settling, with Brent crude futures trading at $US64.62, after struggling to hold the $US60 level on Wednesday.

Financial stocks have clawed back 4.8 per cent but remain in correction territory from mid-February highs, as all big four banks rallied, with Westpac and NAB posting more than 5 per cent gains. 

Investment and financial services giant Macquarie was up 7.1 per cent by lunchtime.

Buy-now, pay-later player Zip Co was the top-200’s best performer, up 19.8 per cent to $1.45, with only three companies trading lower.

The Australian dollar has rallied almost three per cent against the greenback to buy 61.36 US cents, after struggling to break above the 60 US cent for most of the week.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Luxon has cancelled plans and will spend the afternoon hitting the phones with fellow leaders to discuss a united front to US tariffs.

The heavily-trade reliant nation hit with baseline 10 per cent tariffs last week, which Treasury costed at around $NZ900 million ($A828million) or 0.2 per cent of Kiwi GDP.

Mr Luxon said that was not his biggest concern from the US action.

“The second order consequences of a region and a world retreating from trade and increasingly uncertain about its economic future will be more significant,” he said in a speech in Wellington on Thursday morning.

“For as long as I am prime minister, New Zealand will keep making the case for trade as a cornerstone of our prosperity.”

Mr Luxon said he would discuss the trade tit-for-tat with Indo-Pacific leaders this afternoon and European leaders in the evening.

He has not said who he will be speaking with, but will release the list at day’s end.

The former Air New Zealand chief executive suggested collective action between the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) trade bloc and the European Union could act as a bulwark against US-initiated action and China’s retaliation.

The CPTPP is a 12-nation trade region including Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and several Asian nations.

“You’ve got 15 per cent of world trade tied up in the CPTPP, there’s a real opportunity for us to coordinate and to work together,” he said.

“One possibility is that members of the CPTPP and the European Union work together to champion rules-based trade and make specific commitments on how that support plays out in practice.

“My vision is that includes action to prevent restrictions on exports and efforts to ensure any retaliation is consistent with existing rules.

“Collective action, and a collective commitment, by a large portion of the global economy would be a significant step towards preserving free trade flows and protecting supply chains.”

The EU, which already has a free trade deal with NZ, has now proposed to resume stalled talks with Australia in the aftermath of the Trump tariffs.

Mr Luxon is travelling to Europe at the end of the month in a trip expected to take in bilateral talks with the UK and Anzac Day commemorations in Gallipoli.

Global stocks rallied, the dollar found footing and a manic bond selloff stabilised on Thursday after US President Donald Trump said he would temporarily lower the hefty duties he had just imposed on dozens of countries.

Following a days-long market rout that erased trillions of dollars from global stocks and pressured US Treasury bonds and the dollar, Trump on Wednesday announced a 90-day pause on many of his new tariffs in a shock reversal.

The move sent Wall Street’s “Magnificent Seven” stocks tacking on more than $US1.5 trillion ($A2.4 trillion) in market value overnight and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index clocked their biggest daily percentage gains in more than a decade.

But US futures turned lower on Thursday, with Nasdaq futures falling 0.67 per cent and S&P 500 futures down 0.17 per cent.

The dollar logged its largest one-day jump against the yen in two months and in five against the Swiss franc in the previous session, and held to most of those gains in Asia on Thursday.

Japan’s Nikkei surged 8.0 per cent, while European futures shot up.

EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures climbed roughly 9.0 per cent each. FTSE futures jumped 6.0 per cent.

“This is a piece of news that surprised market participants, given the magnitude of the move … Obviously this is a pretty strong risk-on environment we’re seeing in the aftermath of the announcement,” said Jeff Schulze, head of economic and market strategy at ClearBridge Investments.

“However, given the tariffs that have been announced and that are staying in place … that is still going to dramatically increase the average effective tariff rate in the US to close to 20 per cent.”

Trump’s reversal on the country-specific tariffs is not absolute. A 10 per cent blanket duty on almost all US imports will remain in effect, the White House said. The announcement also does not appear to affect duties on autos, steel and aluminium that are already in place.

He also heaped pressure on China, saying he would raise the tariff on Chinese imports to 125 per cent from the 104 per cent level that came into effect on Wednesday.

China on Wednesday raised additional duties on American products to 84 per cent and imposed restrictions on 18 US companies, mostly in defence-related industries.

“It is difficult to see either side backing down in the next few days. But we suspect that talks will eventually happen, although a full rollback of all the additional tariffs applied since Inauguration Day appear unlikely,” said Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics.

“Our long-standing assumption that the effective tariff rate on China would settle around 60 per cent still seems like the best bet.”

Ahead of the onshore open of Chinese markets, the offshore yuan  was last 0.15 per cent weaker at 7.3570 per dollar, having struck a record low earlier in the week.

A steep selloff in bonds this week also showed some signs of easing on Thursday.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was last at 4.3160 per cent, having touched a high of 4.5150 per cent in the previous session and rising some 13 basis points.

A violent US Treasury selloff in the previous sessions, evoking the COVID-era “dash for cash”, had reignited fears of fragility in the world’s biggest bond market.

“Sticky inflation, a patient (Federal Reserve), potential foreign buyer boycotts, hedge fund deleveraging, rebalancing out of bonds into cash, and an illiquid Treasury market are all reasons why Treasury yields continue to move higher,” said Lawrence Gillum, chief fixed income strategist at LPL Financial.

Fed policymakers signalled they will not be quick to ride to the rescue with interest rate cuts because they expect higher tariffs to boost inflation, even as they worry Trump’s trade policy could deal a blow to economic growth, minutes of the central bank’s mid-March meeting out on Wednesday showed.

Markets are now pricing in just about 80 basis points of rate cuts by December, down from more than 100 bps earlier in the week.

Elsewhere, oil prices rose on optimism over the pause on tariffs.

Spot gold extended its climb and was last up 0.5 per cent at $US3,097.52 ($A5,031.71) an ounce.

When Donald Trump offered some financial advice on social media, stocks were wavering between gains and losses.

But that was about to change. 

“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT,” he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social at 9.37am on Wednesday.

Less than four hours later, the US president announced a 90-day pause on nearly all his tariffs. Stocks soared on the news, closing up 9.5 per cent by the end of trading. The market, measured by the S&P 500, gained back about $US4 trillion ($A6.5 trillion), or 70 per cent, of the value it had lost over the previous four trading days. 

It was a prescient call by the president. Maybe too prescient. 

“He’s loving this, this control over markets, but he better be careful,” said Trump critic and former White House ethics lawyer, Richard Painter, noting that securities law prohibits trading on insider information or helping others do so. 

“The people who bought when they saw that post made a lot of money.” 

The question is, was Trump already contemplating the tariff pause when he made that post? 

Asked about when he arrived at his decision, Trump gave a muddled answer.

“I would say this morning,” he said. 

“Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about it. Fairly early this morning.”

Asked for clarification on the timing in an email to the White House later, a spokesman didn’t answer directly but defended Trump’s post as part of his job.

“It is the responsibility of the president of the United States to reassure the markets and Americans about their economic security in the face of nonstop media fearmongering,” wrote White House spokesman Kush Desai.

Another curiosity of the posting was Trump’s signoff with his initials. 

DJT is also the stock symbol for Trump Media and Technology Group, the parent company of the president’s social media platform Truth Social. 

It is not clear if Trump was saying buying stocks in general, or Trump Media in particular. The White House was asked, but didn’t address that either. Trump did not include “DJT” on his other posts Wednesday but he does use it intermittently, typically to emphasise that he has personally written the message.

The ambiguity about what Trump meant didn’t stop people from pouring money into that stock. 

Trump Media closed up 22.67 per cent, soaring twice as much as the broader market, a stunning performance by a company that lost $US400 million ($A650 million) in 2024 and is seemingly unaffected by whether tariffs would be imposed or paused. 

Trump’s 53 per cent ownership stake in the company, now in a trust controlled by his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., rose by $US415 million ($A674 million) on the day. 

Trump Media was bested, albeit by only two-hundreds of a percentage point, by another Trump administration stock pick — Elon Musk’s Tesla. 

In March, Trump held an extraordinary news conference outside the White House praising the company and its cars. That was followed by a Fox TV appearance by his commerce secretary urging viewers to buy the stock.

Tesla’s surge on Wednesday added $US20 billion ($A32 billion) to Musk’s fortunes. 

Kathleen Clark, a government ethics law expert at Washington University School of Law, says Trump’s post in other administrations would have been investigated, but is not likely not to trigger any reaction, save for maybe more Truth Social viewers.

“He’s sending the message that he can effectively and with impunity manipulate the market,” she said.

“As in: Watch this space for future stock tips.”

When it comes to collecting ’em all, Asif Mir is living his childhood dream.

The 31-year-old from western Sydney has turned his passion into a booming career, amassing a collection of trading cards ranging from Pokémon to Dragon Ball Z, Star Wars and Power Rangers worth more than $1 million.

As a young boy, Mr Mir remembers watching cartoons and anime on breakfast TV, but having strict parents meant he couldn’t collect cards from his favourite shows.

“It’s nostalgia that brings back memories of wanting that (Pokémon creature) Charizard card that I always wanted, and now I can finally get it with my adult money,” he told AAP.

About one-in-three Australian adults are collectors, equating to 7.6 million of the national population according to a report by eBay and Deloitte Access Economics.

The median Australian hobbyist has 50 collectables worth a total of $2200, based on a survey of 2000 collectors.

Expanded to the entire population, the report estimates Australians own about 380 million collectables at a price tag of $16.8 billion.

Australia is an emerging collector nation as technological, economic and social change over the past 25 years expands people’s access across the globe – with Australians spending a record of $69 billion on online shopping in 2024.

Mr Mir’s hobby began in 2019 as with a few shelves, folders and boxes but more than five years on, his collection has grown exponentially.

“Every single room (in my house) is covered in Pokémon,” he said.

“My garage to the bathroom, my bed and my pillows – everything is something collectable.”

Mr Mir quit his job as a sign language interpreter to pursue the passion full time, making him upwards of $2 million in the past five years which allowed him to buy a house with the money.

Genuine love for the items and nostalgia are the top motivators for collectors, the report said, but cost-of-living pressures have seen some turn to the hobby for extra support.

About one-in-five collectors surveyed have turned their passion into a financial endeavour, while 35 per cent said they collect because the item is a good investment.

Collectors reaped a median profit of $5400 in the last year and $13,000 over the past three years – up from the $5000 to $10,000 median profit in the three years prior to 2023.

Coins are the most popular collectable followed by toys, pre-loved fashion items, and antiques, while trading cards amount to some of the most expensive collectables on eBay.

Collecting trading cards has evolved from a childhood pastime to a serious hobby driven by nostalgia, with the potential to become a rewarding investment, eBay Australia’s Alaister Low said.

“It’s an exciting world where passion meets investment, and the thrill of the hunt for those elusive cards continues to grow,” he said.

Donald Trump’s tariff walk back will not directly affect Australia’s situation, but it could open the door for more discussions with the US.

The US president has wound back tariffs on the imported goods of many countries to 10 per cent for 90 days, while raising the levy applied to China to 125 per cent.

Australia’s tariffs remain the same, as it was already subject to a baseline 10 per cent levy in the first week of the federal election campaign.

Asked if Mr Trump’s decision changes anything for the nation, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said it would not.

“No, and nor does our policy (change)” he told Nine’s Today show on Thursday.

“We would prefer there’s no tariffs between Australia and the United States and we’ll continue to make that case.”

The tariff pause comes after more than 75 countries made contact with the US to discuss the trade measures, the president said, which could hint that he’s willing to open the door to negotiations.

China and the US have continued to apply escalating reciprocal tariffs and Beijing has asked Australia to “join hands” and respond together, according to reports in the Nine newspapers.

But Mr Marles said Australia was “not about to make common cause with China”.

“We don’t want to see a trade war between America and China, to be clear, but our focus is on diversifying our trade.”

When Australians go to the ballot box on May 3 the major parties’ responses to the tariffs are likely to weigh on voting decisions.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Mr Trump’s latest backflip reflected his “volatility”, adding that if he becomes prime minister he will talk to the president about the US relationship with Australia and opportunities for expansion through sectors like critical minerals.

“We need to be able to have the strength to stand up for our position, to argue and negotiate the best outcome for Australia,” he told 2GB on Thursday.

“Australia is and should always be seen as a reliable partner.”

Meanwhile, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and his opposition counterpart Angus Taylor clashed over mounting spending, claims of secret cuts and falling living standards in the first treasurers’ election debate on Wednesday night.

But in their pitch to voters at the debate hosted by Sky News both men urged Australians not to risk electing the opponents.

The US tariffs have reshaped the election debate, sidelining the previously dominant issue of the cost of living and blunting the coalition’s key attack line that people had become poorer under Labor.

Dr Chalmers attempted to tie the opposition to the Trump administration accusing it of copying the president’s policy platforms, such as the Elon Musk-led cost-cutting agency the Department of Government Efficiency.

“We’ve got an opposition leader and an opposition which is absolutely full of these kind of DOGE-y sycophants who have hitched their wagon to American-style slogans and policies and especially cuts which would make Australians worse off,” he said.

Opposition senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was recently named the coalition spokesperson for government efficiency.

Mr Taylor criticised the government for presiding over a budget, released last month, that forecast $179 billion of deficits over the next five years and a return to a structural deficit.

But neither offered a credible plan for economic reform to balance the budget when pressed by moderator Ross Greenwood.

The coalition on Thursday promised to establish two future funds that will help pay down Australia’s debt, improve childcare and health, and boost economies in regional areas.

In a stunning reversal, US President Donald Trump says he will temporarily lower the hefty duties he had just imposed on dozens of countries while further ramping up pressure on China, sending US stocks rocketing higher.

Trump’s turnabout, which came on Wednesday less than 24 hours after steep new tariffs kicked in on most trading partners, followed the most intense episode of financial market volatility since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The upheaval erased trillions of dollars from stock markets and led to an unsettling surge in US government bond yields that appeared to catch Trump’s attention.

“I saw last night that people were getting a little queasy,” Trump told reporters following his announcement.

“The bond market right now is beautiful.”

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly threatened an array of punitive measures on trading partners, only to revoke some of them at the last minute. The on-again, off-again approach has baffled world leaders and spooked business executives, who say the uncertainty has made it difficult to forecast market conditions.

In the latest twist, Trump said he would suspend targeted tariffs on other countries for three months to allow time for US officials to negotiate with countries that have sought to reduce them.

But he kept the pressure on China, the No.2 provider of US imports. Trump said he would raise the tariff on Chinese imports to 125 per cent from the 104 per cent level that took effect at midnight, further escalating a high-stakes confrontation between the world’s two largest economies. The two countries have traded tit-for-tat tariff hikes repeatedly over the past week.

Trump’s reversal on the country-specific tariffs is not absolute. A 10 per cent blanket duty on almost all US imports will remain in effect, the White House said. The announcement also does not appear to affect duties on autos, steel and aluminum that are already in place. US stock indexes shot higher on the news, with the benchmark S&P 500 index closing 9.5 per cent higher. Bond yields came off earlier highs and the dollar rebounded against safe-haven currencies.

Trump’s tariffs had sparked a days-long selloff that erased trillions of dollars from global stocks and pressured US Treasury bonds and the dollar, which form the backbone of the global financial system. Canada and Japan said they would step in to provide stability if needed – a task usually performed by the United States during times of economic crisis.

Analysts said the sudden spike in share prices might not undo all of the damage. Surveys have found slowing business investment and household spending due to worries about the impact of the tariffs, and a Reuters/Ipsos survey found that three out of four Americans expect prices to increase in the months ahead.

Goldman Sachs cut its probability of a recession back to 45 per cent after Trump’s move, down from 65 per cent, saying the tariffs left in place were still likely to result in a 15 per cent increase in the overall tariff rate.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shrugged off questions about market turmoil and said the abrupt reversal rewarded countries that had heeded Trump’s advice to refrain from retaliation. He suggested Trump had used the tariffs to create “maximum negotiating leverage for himself.”

“This was his strategy all along,” Bessent told reporters.

“And you might even say that he goaded China into a bad position. They responded. They have shown themselves to the world to be the bad actor.”

Bessent is the point person in the country-by-country negotiations that could address foreign aid and military cooperation as well as economic matters. Trump has spoken with leaders of Japan and South Korea, and a delegation from Vietnam was due to meet with US officials on Wednesday.

Bessent declined to say how long negotiations with the more than 75 countries that have reached out might take.

Trump said a resolution with China was possible as well. But officials have said they will prioritise talks with other countries.

It’s only been nine days since Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock last spoke publicly, following the central bank’s latest decision to keep interest rates on hold.

But in economic time, it feels like years have passed.

Ms Bullock noted that the central bank’s board was concerned that uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs could lead to slower economic growth.

Uncertainty persists, but the seismic market reaction to the unprecedented escalation in trade hostilities shows that the situation is worse than had been feared.

Ms Bullock’s first public appearance since the US tariff announcements, at the Chief Executive Women Melbourne annual dinner on Thursday night, will be closely scrutinised for any indication as to how the RBA will respond to the carnage.

The ASX200 has fallen almost 15 per cent since its February peak, putting it firmly in correction territory.

Another $50 billion was wiped from the ASX on Wednesday after Mr Trump’s country-specific tariffs, including imposts of 104 per cent on Chinese goods, came into effect.

Meanwhile, household confidence slumped, with respondents surveyed after the April 2 tariff announcement down 10 per cent on Westpac’s consumer sentiment index compared to the month before.

While they don’t believe Australia will enter a recession, economists such as KPMG’s Brendan Rynne and AMP’s Shane Oliver expect a hefty shave to GDP growth.

Traders are now pricing in almost 125 basis points worth of rate cuts by the start of 2026 and economists think a 50 basis point cut at the RBA’s next meeting in May is on the cards.

Ms Bullock met with Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy, along with the heads of financial regulators ASIC, APRA and the ACCC, on Wednesday to compare notes over the likely fallout to the Australian economy.

The Council of Financial Regulators, as the gathering is known, noted an increase in global financial market volatility, “but that the Australian financial system was strong and resilient”.

Dr Chalmers sought to reassure households that the nation was well-placed to weather the storm.

“We’re working closely with the financial regulators and we’re confident about Australia’s ability to respond to heightened global uncertainty, but we’re not complacent,” he said.

Ms Bullock separately met with shadow treasurer Angus Taylor.

Mr Taylor faced off against Dr Chalmers in a debate on Wednesday night, with the pair attempting to convince voters they were best suited to guiding Australia through choppy economic waters in the next term of government.

Australians are being asked who they have more faith in to steer the economy through turbulent times, as Donald Trump’s trade war prompts the major parties to press their economic credentials.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers and his opposition counterpart Angus Taylor clashed over mounting spending, claims of secret cuts and falling living standards in the first treasurers’ election debate on Wednesday night.

But in their pitch to voters, both men essentially urged Australians not to risk it by electing the other side.

Mr Taylor borrowed a slogan from former Liberal prime minister John Howard, casting the coalition as superior economic manager compared to Labor, who he accused of overseeing a record decline in living standards.

“We are living in uncertain and tumultuous times, and the choice of this election is who do you trust to manage the economy?” he said.

Dr Chalmers said electing the coalition would unwind the progress the economy had made under Labor.

“There could not be a more important time for the responsible economic management, which has been the defining feature of this Albanese government,” he said.

“And there could not be a worse time to risk Peter Dutton’s coalition of cuts and chaos, which would make Australians worse off and take Australians backwards.”

The US president’s tariffs have reshaped the election debate, sidelining the previously predominant issue of the cost of living and blunting the coalition’s attack line that people had gotten poorer under Labor.

Dr Chalmers attempted to tie the opposition to Mr Trump, accusing it of copying his policy platforms, such as the Elon Musk-led cost-cutting agency the Department of Government Efficiency.

“We’ve got an opposition leader and an opposition which is absolutely full of these kind of DOGE-y sycophants who have hitched their wagon to American-style slogans and policies and especially cuts which would make Australians worse off,” he said.

Mr Taylor criticised the government for presiding over a budget, released last month, that forecast $179 billion of deficits over the next five years and a return to a structural deficit.

But neither offered a credible plan for economic reform to balance the budget when pressed by moderator Ross Greenwood.

Mr Taylor defended his work ethic in response to a question by Mr Greenwood, while Dr Chalmers was forced to defend a perception that he has a “glass jaw”.

“I think over time, I’ve learned to understand that you take the good with the bad,” he said.

“I think everyone gets grumpy sometimes, but I don’t think I get grumpy about that necessarily.”

Bill Gates’ kids will inherit “less than one per cent” of his fortune because he doesn’t want to create a family “dynasty”.

The Microsoft founder has long insisted he doesn’t want to hand over his billions to his three grown-up children – Jennifer, Rory and Phoebe – and has no plans for them to ever take over his company – and he’s now revealed they will receive a tiny fraction of his net worth.

During an appearance on the Figuring Out With Raj Shamani podcast, Gates explained: “My kids got a great upbringing and education, but less than one per cent of the total wealth because I decided it wouldn’t be a favour to them.

“It’s not a dynasty. I’m not asking them to run Microsoft. I want to give them a chance to have their own earnings and success. You know, be significant and not overshadowed by the incredible luck and good fortune I had. 

“Different families see that differently. I think the people who’ve made fortunes from technology are less dynastic… they’ll even take their capital and give a lot of that away.”

He went on to add: “You don’t want your kids to ever be confused about your support and love for them. I do think (the answer is) explaining early on your philosophy, that you’re going to treat them all equally and that you’re going to give them incredible opportunities.”

Gates, 69, insisted his children understand the bulk of his money should go to charity through the Gates Foundation he set up with his ex-wife Melinda.

He added: “The highest calling for these resources is to go back to the neediest through the foundation… They’ve (the kids) seen the success of the foundation, they’re very proud.”

Gates married Melinda in 1994 and they welcomed the three children together before divorcing in 2021. It was previously revealed they decided to continue living together until their youngest daughter Phoebe had graduated from high school.

He previously told The Times newspaper: “the divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years … Melinda and I still see each other – we have three kids and two grandchildren, so there are family events.

“The kids are doing well. They have good values.”