Australian shares followed the US market higher on Thursday after the world’s largest economy reported easing inflationary pressures, helping to lower interest rate expectations. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 78.3 points, or 1.1 per cent, to close at 7,071 points, while the broader S&P/ASX All Ordinaries rose 86.7 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 7325.4 points. Most…
The local market gave up early gains to finish broadly flat on Thursday after a strong week in the market. Four sectors finished in the red, led by energy and materials, down 2.2 and 1.1 per cent respectively. The key driver has been growing concerns about a weakening in demand for oil and gas, a…
The local market has managed to overcome another 50-basis point rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia to post a small gain for the day despite trading lower throughout. The primary beneficiaries were the consumer sectors, with both staples and retailers up 1.2 and 1.4 per cent, while energy and materials fell by 0.9…
The positive run continued with the S&P/ASX200 gaining 0.7 per cent on Monday, the first day of August following a strong finish to July. Investors have clearly been buoyed by suggestions that the RBA will need to pare back rate hikes well before the expected 4 per cent level is reached. The result was a…
The local sharemarket delivered another positive week for investors with the S&P/ASX200 gaining 0.8 per cent on Friday taking the weekly gain to 2.2 per cent. Added to last week’s 2.8 per cent gain and the market is down just 6.7 per cent for the year. Every sector barring healthcare added to the strong result…
It was another strong day for the local market with the S&P/ASX200 gaining 1 per cent on the back of a broad-based rally. Materials and energy remained the standouts, gaining 2.4 and 1.3 per cent, with the utility sector down 1.8 as both AGL Energy (ASX: AGL) and Origin (ASX: ORG) slumped.  Macquarie Group (ASX:…
The S&P/ASX200 delivered the best week since March this year gaining 2.8 per cent despite weakening slightly on Friday. The driver has been a turnaround in the outlook for interest rates and signs of a slowing economy, with the tech sector up 7.1 per cent for the five days. On Friday it was all about…
The local market finished the week on a negative tone, falling 0.7 per cent and taking the five day loss for the S&P/ASX200 to 1.1 per cent. The biggest driver on Friday was a broad selloff in commodity markets following a weak economic growth result in China, the sector fell 3.2 per cent. Iron ore…
The local market managed another positive finish, gaining 0.4 per cent backed by an unexpected rally in the technology sector. Nine of the 11 sectors gained, with technology 2.1 per cent higher, with only real estate and financials detracting, down 1.1 and 0.8 per cent each. Shares in Netwealth (ASX: NWL) bucked the trend gaining…
It was another positive, but mixed, day for the local market with seven of the 11 sectors finishing higher and contributing to a 0.2 per cent gain. The dispersion between the winners and losers is beginning to narrow after an incredibly volatile period. On the positive side were the consumer and technology sectors, which gained…