Australian shares were trading almost flat on Tuesday as gains in miners countered losses in financials stocks, while investors focussed on any hints of potential near-term easing from the central bank policy decision due later in the day.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.07% at 8,158.4, as of 0129 GMT. The benchmark fell 0.7% on Monday.
The Reserve Bank of Australia is widely expected to keep its key policy interest rate unchanged later in the day and also for the rest of the year, a Reuters poll showed.
“Rates are expected to hold at 4.35%, as services prices, utility bills, housing costs, and rents have kept Australia’s inflation among the highest in the world,” said Jessica Amir, a market strategist at trading platform moomoo.
Market participants are also awaiting the August consumer price index report due on Wednesday to see if inflation has slowed further. In July, consumer prices slowed to 3.5%, but were above the RBA’s target band of 2%-3%.
Back on the bourse, miners gained 1.6%, with sector heavyweight BHP Group rising 1.5%, while Rio Tinto climbed 1.4%.
Australian shares snap 7-day rally as Woolworths, Coles weigh
Interest-rate sensitive financials shed 0.5%, with all the “Big Four” banks trading down.
Consumer staples lost 1.8%, with Coles down 2.4% and Woolworths shedding 2%.
Among individual stocks, American Rare Earths gained as much as 15.7% after the United States backed its Halleck Creek Project in Wyoming.
The Aussie dollar was 0.07% stronger against the U.S. dollar at A$0.68.
Overnight, the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.15%. The S&P 500 gained 0.28%, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.14%.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.3% to 12,400.97 by 0055 GMT.
Source: Brecorder
