Australian shares rose on Thursday's close, as President Trump said he will pause for 90 days the higher tariffs that hit dozens of US trading partners.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 4.54% or 334.6 points to close at 7709.6.

Countries that faced higher reciprocal duties will now be taxed at the previous 10% baseline rate that other nations face, Bloomberg reported.

However, Trump raised tariffs on China to 125%, after the Asian country said it would impose an 84% tax on American goods starting Thursday.

"No one knows what shape these tariffs are ultimately going to take, so brace for more chaos ahead," said Tsutomu Soma, a bond trader at Monex Inc. in Tokyo.

On the domestic front, Australia's expected inflation rate rose by 0.6 percentage points to 4.2% in April, according to a report from the Melbourne Institute.

Business turnover across Australia's 13 industries rose 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis in February, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.

The National Australia Bank's economic analysts now expect more aggressive easing from the Reserve Bank of Australia due to the escalation of global trade tensions.

In company news, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it would not oppose Qube Holdings' (ASX:QUB) proposed acquisition of Melbourne International RoRo & Auto Terminal (Mirrat) after accepting a court-enforceable undertaking to remedy competition concerns. Share of the company rose 4% at market close.

Santos (ASX:STO) said its Barossa liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Timor Sea is 95.2% complete as of the end of March and is on track to produce its first gas by the third quarter of this year. Shares rose past 4% at market close.

Lastly, Regional Express Holdings (ASX:REX) will be removed from the Australian Securities Exchange's official list if it fails to meet the deadlines related to its outstanding periodic report and plans to resume trading.