AIRLINK 157.41 Decreased By ▼ -6.97 (-4.24%)
BOP 10.37 Decreased By ▼ -0.20 (-1.89%)
CNERGY 8.32 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.95%)
CPHL 92.89 Increased By ▲ 2.93 (3.26%)
FCCL 46.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.21 (-0.45%)
FFL 14.88 Decreased By ▼ -0.36 (-2.36%)
FLYNG 26.98 Increased By ▲ 0.65 (2.47%)
HUBC 134.01 Decreased By ▼ -2.36 (-1.73%)
HUMNL 12.52 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-3.77%)
KEL 4.21 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-1.64%)
KOSM 5.39 Decreased By ▼ -0.22 (-3.92%)
MLCF 60.88 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (0.15%)
OGDC 208.52 Decreased By ▼ -6.37 (-2.96%)
PACE 5.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-2.53%)
PAEL 40.78 Decreased By ▼ -1.22 (-2.9%)
PIAHCLA 18.80 Increased By ▲ 1.06 (5.98%)
PIBTL 9.98 Decreased By ▼ -0.25 (-2.44%)
POWER 11.96 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.5%)
PPL 168.77 Decreased By ▼ -5.45 (-3.13%)
PRL 35.03 Decreased By ▼ -0.51 (-1.44%)
PTC 22.99 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.22%)
SEARL 93.10 Decreased By ▼ -1.94 (-2.04%)
SSGC 35.57 Decreased By ▼ -1.04 (-2.84%)
SYM 13.66 Decreased By ▼ -0.27 (-1.94%)
TELE 6.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.29 (-4.01%)
TPLP 10.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.27 (-2.63%)
TRG 60.67 Decreased By ▼ -0.86 (-1.4%)
WAVESAPP 9.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.62 (-6.01%)
WTL 1.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-1.52%)
YOUW 3.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-1.08%)
BR100 12,239 Decreased By -154.2 (-1.24%)
BR30 36,393 Decreased By -714.3 (-1.92%)
KSE100 114,153 Decreased By -1379.3 (-1.19%)
KSE30 35,200 Decreased By -461.3 (-1.29%)

Australian shares traded nearly flat on Wednesday after gains in mining and gold stocks helped pare earlier losses, with investors assessing the central bank’s hawkish stance on inflation as it held interest rates steady.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.03% to 7,780.80 by 00:07 GMT.

The benchmark closed 1.01% higher in the previous session.

Although the Reserve Bank of Australia kept rates at a 12-year high of 4.35% for a fifth straight meeting on Tuesday, it flagged upside risks to inflation in the region.

The RBA emphasised the need to be vigilant on inflation, as it remained well above the bank’s target band at 3.6%.

Markets are not fully pricing in a rate cut until April or May 2025.

On Wednesday, mining stocks rose 0.2%, tracking copper and iron prices higher. Mining giants BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue were up between 0.1% and 1.9%.

Domestic gold stocks rose 0.9%, tracking an uptick in bullion prices.

Banks push Australian shares higher as RBA stays vigilant on inflation

Gold miners Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources gained 1.7% and 1.4%, respectively. Bucking the trend, interest-rate sensitive financials edged down 0.1%. The “Big Four” banks fell between 0.2% and 0.4%.

QBE Insurance Group fell around 0.5%, after the insurance firm flagged closure of its struggling North America middle-market segment.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.5% to 11,707.58.

Market participants in the region now await the country’s first-quarter gross domestic data due later this week.

Comments

Comments are closed.