markets

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…

A recent survey shows 74 per cent of Australian business leaders expect profits to increase in the year ahead, despite a still-challenging outlook and sticky inflation.

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…

Local stocks enjoyed a positive lead-in from Wall Street, after the US consumer inflation figure rose 7.1 per cent in the year to November, less than economists had expected and down from a 7.7 per cent annual rise in October. The S&P/ASX200 index gained 48 points, or 0.7 per cent, on Wednesday, to 7251.3, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 49.5…

A strong performance by the banking sector led the Australian share market on Tuesday, as traders and investors cast a wary eye ahead of the monthly US inflation readout overnight.The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index gained 22.5 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 7203.3, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 18.6 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 7389.2. The banks were inspired…

The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5 per cent, or 32.4 points, to 7180.8 on Monday, dragged lower by losses across the utilities sector, which contains Origin Energy – and the big electricity and gas supplier were hammered 61 cents, or 7.8 per cent, lower to $7.19, amid fears that the federal government’s intervention into the gas market could see Brookfield and EIG Group walk away…