US markets rallied late in the session as President Trump moved to implement tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, but provided an immediate exemption for Mexico and Canada while allowing other countries to negotiate exclusions - Dow up +94-points or +0.38% and the broader S&P500 +0.45%. The technology-centric NASDAQ added +0.42% for its fifth consecutive rise. President Trump singled out Australia as an "ally" that may not face the steel and aluminium tariffs he is imposing - “We have a very close relationship with Australia, we have a trade surplus with Australia, great country long term partner we’ll be doing something with them."
In US economic data, jobless claims for the week ended March 3 climbed +21K to 231,000 claims, above economists’ forecast of 220,000 claims. However, investors' focus is on tonight's AEDT non-farm payrolls report for February (with consensus estimates for the economy to have added +205K jobs).
