Aussie shares bounce back from Trump tariff sell-off

The local sharemarket has finished higher, bouncing back somewhat from Monday's selloff prompted by Donald Trump's nascent trade war.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Wednesday finished 42.9 points higher at 8,419.9, a gain of 0.5 per cent, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 50 points, or 0.58 per cent, at 8,683.4.

The ASX200 got off to a good start on Tuesday morning, clawing back a portion of Monday's 1.8 per cent plunge, but gave up those gains and faded slightly into the red in late trading as President Trump's tariffs took effect on China.

Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda on Wednesday said investors had followed Wall Street's lead by shaking off the simmering trade tensions.

"Despite several shocks over the last fortnight, the buy-the-dip attitude in US markets appears hard to shake," Mr Rodda said.

"Barring any new tariff salvos from Trump, the markets shift attention to a couple of days of heavy data in the US."

Overnight a weekly estimate of US jobs openings fell by more than expected, suggesting a material cooling in job market conditions, which was seen as increasing the odds of the Federal Reserve cutting US interest rates in June.

In response the US dollar dropped while gold rose, climbing to a fresh all-time high of $US2,859 an ounce.

As expected, gold miners responded positively, with Northern Star climbing 1.7 per cent, Evolution rising 2.1 per cent and Westgold adding 3.4 per cent.

Elsewhere in the mining sector, BHP rose 1.5 per cent to $40.13, Fortescue rose 2.0 per cent to $18.99 and Rio Tinto advanced 2.1 per cent to $119.18.

Overall eight of the ASX's 11 sectors rose, consumer staples and health care dropped and financials finished basically flat.

Tech tied mining for the biggest gains, with both sectors rising 1.6 per cent.

Xero grew similarly, Wisetech Global climbed 1.9 per cent and Appen advanced 2.5 per cent.

All of the big four banks finished higher, with CBA rising 0.6 per cent to $158.57, NAB adding 0.7 per cent to $39.39, Westpac advancing 0.5 per cent to $33.28 and ANZ creeping 0.1 per cent higher at $30.17.

Insignia Financial rose 6.9 per cent to an over three-year high of $4.62 after receiving a third non-binding takeover proposal, this one from Brookfield at $3.1 billion or $4.60 per share.

CC Capital and Bain Capital have also made non-binding offers to acquire Insignia, a Melbourne-based wealth manager and financial advice company formerly known as IOOF.

Kelly Partners fell 12.2 per cent to a two-week low of $10.30 after the accounting firm for private business owners said its first-half revenue was up 22.8 per cent to $64.9 million.

The Australian dollar was buying 62.50 US cents, from 61.88 US cents around 5pm Tuesday.

ON THE ASX:

* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Wednesday rose 42.9 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 8,416.9

* The broader All Ordinaries gained 50 points, or 0.58 per cent, at 8,683.4

CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:

One Australian dollar buys:

* 62.50 US cents, from 61.88 at 5pm AEDT on Tuesday

* 95.87 Japanese yen, from 96.08 yen

* 60.23 euro cents, from 60.11 euro cents

* 50.13 British pence, from 49.92 pence

* 110.52 NZ cents, from 110.66 NZ cents