Live updates: Australian share market set to rise as Wall Street gains, RBA to release card surcharge review outcome

Wall Street stocks closed marginally up on Monday as investors sidestepped any meaningful moves following US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats, and held steady ahead of a busy week of economic data and the start of earnings season.

Trump ramped up trade tensions over the weekend, vowing to slap a 30% tariff on most imports from the European Union and Mexico from August 1, leaving the clock ticking for last-minute trade deals.

The EU extended its pause on retaliatory measures until early August, holding out hope for a negotiated truce. The White House said talks with the EU, Canada and Mexico were still underway.

Despite the headlines, investor reaction was muted, having grown numb to Trump’s barrage of tariff threats and his frequent last-minute U-turns.

Trading volume was also subdued, with 15.43 billion shares changing hands, compared with the 17.62 billion average for the last 20 trading days.

Markets have been buoyant in recent weeks even as Trump has rattled his tariff saber.

The Nasdaq Composite ended at a record high, its seventh such achievement since June 27. The S&P 500, which finished a dozen points below last Thursday’s best-ever close, has had five records in the same time frame.

“If anything is holding the market back, it’s the fact we’ve had a pretty good run since April,” said Jason Pride, chief of investment strategy & research at Glenmede.

He noted that despite initial fears that Trump’s tariff policy would hurt the US economy, the levies unveiled so far and the passage of his signature economic legislation last week would broadly offset each other, meaning investors are starting to be more confident about the economy’s growth prospects.

with Reuters