markets

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…

The local market managed to end the week on a positive note, adding 0.5 per cent, as continued strength in the iron ore price sent the materials sector close to 2 per cent higher. The rally was led by BHP (ASX: BHP) which gained 2.7 per cent, and Fortescue (ASX: FMG) which added 2.8 per cent, with the technology…

Geo-political and economic worries mounted for the local share market on Thursday, with the upshot being a slide of 53.9 points, or 0.8 per cent, in the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index, to 7,175.5 points while the broader All Ordinaries index lost 53.8 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 7,369.4. Seven of the ASX’s 11 official sectors retreated, with energy the worst hit as…

Local shares followed Wall Street lower on Wednesday, despite the release of data showing that the Australian economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the September quarter, for an annual growth rate of 5.9 per cent, a strong result coming off the back of the final wave of COVID-19 lockdowns in 2021. The quarterly figure was slightly…

The Australian share market eased on Tuesday as the eighth consecutive rate hike from the Reserve Bank saw the cash rate lifted by 0.25 percentage points, to 3.1 per cent – up from 0.1 per cent in just seven months. The rate hike was mostly expected, and the central bank indicated that further tightening was in store in…