markets

Australian shares ended a five-day winning streak on Wednesday, and the Aussie dollar rose, after the markets learned that inflation in Australia had risen to its highest point since 1990, at an annual rate of 7.8 per cent in the December quarter, beating economist forecasts of 7.6 per cent. Even the Reserve Bank’s preferred measure of “trimmed mean…

Upgrades in expectations for lithium price growth helped to lift the Australian sharemarket on Tuesday, driving a strong day for miners. Broker UBS lifted its lithium price forecast as much as 50 per cent, and the lithium players saw plenty of green. Pilbara Minerals gained 25 cents, or 5.2 per cent, to $5.08, while fellow producer Allkem was up…

The S&P/ASX 200 continued its strong early-2023 form on Monday, advancing 5.1 points, or 0.1 per cent, to a fresh nine-month high of 7457.3 points. The broader All Ordinaries index added 7.9 points to 7,674.2. It has been quite some time since the buy now, pay later (BNPL) stocks were on a tear, but the former darlings turned the clock…

The local market managed to finish what appeared a mixed week on a positive note, gaining 0.2 per cent. Powered by the energy and materials sectors, up 1.4 and 0.9, on news of higher iron ore and oil prices, the S&P/ASX200 managed a 1.7 per cent gain for the week. Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) was…

The local share market advanced to a fresh eight-month high on Thursday after weaker-than-expected jobs data showed the Australian economy slowing, raising expectations for less aggressive rate hikes from the Reserve Bank. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed on Thursday up 41.9 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 7,435.3, its best level since April 22. The broader All Ordinaries gained 38.9 points,…

It was a mixed day on the local market on Wednesday, with six of the 11 sectors higher, and the upshot being a 0.1 per cent rise in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, to 7393.4. The broader All Ordinaries Index added 11.9 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 7,609.5. The market was not exactly off to the races, but…

A better-than-expected performance by China’s economy in the December quarter was not enough to inspire the Australian stock market on Tuesday, perhaps overshadowed by a data release showing a fall in China’s population for the first time in decades. According to a release from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the population of mainland China was 1.411 billion people at the end…

The Australian shares benchmark gained 60.1 points, or 0.8 per cent, on Monday to reach its highest level in nine months, at 7,388.2 points. The S&P/ASX 200 has had a good start to 2023, racking up a 6.4 per cent gain so far. The broader All Ordinaries index added 64.9 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 7,605, to be…

The local bourse couldn’t manage a positive week, with a negative lead from Wall Street and renewed rhetoric around rate hikes impacting on sentiment. The S&P/ASX200 finished down 0.8 per cent with energy and industrials the rare winners, up 0.4 and 0.2 per cent, while the tech and utilities sector both fell by more than 2 per cent. Block (ASX: SQ2)…

The Australian share market struggled on Thursday, with sentiment hit by a weaker-than-expected economic update out of China, and an aggressive statement from the Federal Reserve saying that at least 75 basis points in rate hikes – or 0.75 percentage points – is in the offing in 2023 as the US central bank continues its fight against…