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S&P/ASX 200 slips as US-China trade impasse shows no signs of easing

Published: 17:10 29 May 2019 AEST

ASX boards
Lynas Corp shares surged 15.5%

S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) closed down 44 points or 0.7% to 6,440, giving up yesterday’s gains following a slump on Wall Street overnight.

The prospects of a resolution to the ongoing trade war between the US and China weakened, after US President Donald Trump said he’s not yet ready to make a trade deal with China.

This led to a sell-off in US stocks yesterday, which has impacted markets across Asia today.

Rare earths firms gain

Lynas Corp (ASX:LYC) shares surged 15.5% to $2.76, amid speculation China may restrict exports of rare-earths metals due to its trade dispute with the US.

Rare earths are used to make mobile phones, LEDs, electric cars and other high-value items. China dominates the global market, accounting for 71% of the global rare earths supply.

Consequently, rare earths exploration firms benefited, with Arafura Resources (ASX:ARU) jumping 22.9% to 8.6 cents and Peak Resources (ASX:PEK) rising 20.5% to 4.7 cents.

Australian Strategic Materials signs US$600 million LoI

Rowena Smith, CEO and managing director of Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX:ASM, OTC:ASMMF), joins Jonathan Jackson in the Proactive studio to discuss the company’ s Dubbo Project, in Central West New South Wales. This project aims to extract and process critical minerals and rare earth...

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