Aussie shares shine as trade-war refuge

Foreign investors have been turning to domestically focused stocks in Australia, choosing an often overlooked market as a trade-war hideout with a cheap currency and resilient economy.

- ANKUR BANERJEE AND TOM WESTBROOK

It is hard to quantify just how much capital has gone Down Under, since Australia’s stock exchange does not publish timely flows data. But it has showed up in share registries.

The ASX 200 is among the developed world’s top-performing markets since Donald Trump's “Liberation Day” tariff announcement on April 2, rising 3.1% and beaten only by Germany's DAX.

The gain in US dollar terms is more than double that if the greenback’s declines over that time are taken into account.