Australian shares have risen sharply for a second straight day, buoyed by a growing belief among investors that central banks will continue to slow down the pace of interest rate hikes.
At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 1.74 per cent or 116.40 points higher at 6815.70.
FuturesThe Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 134 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 20 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 62 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 104 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performersThe best-performing sector was Information Technology, up 3.85 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Consumer Staples, down 0.04 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Telix Pharmaceuticals
(ASX:TLX), closing 11.65 per cent higher at $5.56. It was followed by shares in HUB24
(ASX:HUB) and Block
(ASX:SQ2).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Sayona Mining
(ASX:SYA), closing 7.84 per cent lower at $0.24. It was followed by shares in Ramelius Resources
(ASX:RMS) and Sims
(ASX:SGM).
Asian marketsShares in the Asia-Pacific have traded higher after US stocks rallied for a second day.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has surged 5.47 per cent on its return to trade after a holiday Tuesday. The Hang Seng Tech index has soared 7.4 per cent higher.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan has risen 0.45 per cent, pushing above the 27,000 level, while the Topix has added 0.37 per cent.
In South Korea, the Kospi is up 0.15 per cent and the Kosdaq has given up early gains to fall 1.5 per cent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan has risen 2.37 per cent.
On the economic front, inflation in South Korea slowed slightly in September, according to official data released Wednesday.
Mainland China markets remain closed for the Golden Week holiday, and India’s stock market is also shut for a holiday.
RBNZ hikes OCR by 50 bp after debating 75 bp increaseAs expected RBNZ hiked the official cash rate (OCR) by 50 bp to 3.50 per cent. Policy statement leaned hawkish with the committee having debated whether to hike OCR by 50 or 75 bp at this meeting. Settled on 50 bp increase with members emphasising degree of tightening to date and lags in policy transmission. Those arguing for 75 bp argued it would reduce the likelihood of a higher peak rate. Committee agreed to continue tightening at pace, playing into expectations of more 50 bp increases. Noted more tightening needed until there is sufficient restraint on spending to return inflation to 1-3 per cent target. Statement emphasised core inflation still too high and employment beyond maximum sustainable level amid a very tight labour market. Recent indicators suggest domestic activity in Q3 may have been stronger than assumed with consumption resilient in the face of falling house prices.
Australian government facing calls from own MPs to leave stage three tax cuts aloneThe Australian reported that Labor MPs are pushing the government to deliver the stage three tax cuts in full, expressing concern about potential changes given Labor committed to the package ahead of the election. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has refused to rule out amending the stage three tax cuts in the 25-Oct budget, citing pressures from inflation and structural deficits.
Australian government considers delaying start date of its dividend crackdownFinancial Review noted Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones signalled the government will consider delaying the start date of its proposal to ensure only dividends equivalent to realised profits can receive a franking credit. The government had proposed backdating the measure to December 2016, causing concern among investors in companies that have paid special dividends or issued new shares in the past six years.
Company newsLatin Resources
(ASX:LRS) has confirmed the discovery of a new lithium mineralised zone some 500m west of the Colina prospect, and also provided an update on the program of resource definition drilling and other studies currently ongoing at the company’s 100 per cent owned high-grade Colina Lithium Prospect. Latin Resources’ Exploration Manager Tony Greenaway commented: “The significance of these latest results from hole SADD033 cannot be understated. They confirm that we have a second zone of high-grade lithium bearing pegmatite only 500m to the west of the main Colina resource drilling." Shares closed up 4.8 per cent to 11 cents.
American Rare Earths (ASX:ARR; OTCQB:ARRNF; FSE:1BHA) announced this morning that exploration drilling will commence today. 36 reverse circulation holes will be drilled to define a maiden JORC resource at the 100 per cent owned Halleck Creek project. An additional 19 holes have been permitted to enable the program to be further expanded. Drilling is expected to be completed by Mid-December this year. Managing Director and CEO Chris Gibbs commented: “We’re very excited to commence this drilling program to advance the massive Halleck Creek Project. Further encouragement for the progress of Halleck Creek came from the test work results on ore from our large-scale La Paz project, announced last week. These are significant for both projects because of the similarities between the ore. We’ve also initiated metallurgy test work specifically for Halleck Creek ore and look forward to providing an update on this as soon as results are available”. Shares closed down 2.27 per cent at 21.5 cents.
Demetallica
(ASX:DRM) today reported completion of two drill holes targeting the Mawson and Wills copper targets at Demetallica’s 100 per cent owned Peake and Denison project, SA. Peake and Denison is a joint venture project funded by OZ Minerals
(ASX:OZL) where Demetallica is manager and operator. The company noted how the highly encouraging visible copper mineralisation has been intersected at both sites. These results amplify the JV’s view that Peake and Denison offers immense untapped potential as a completely new copper exploration frontier along the north-eastern edge of the Gawler Craton. Shares closed 10.71 per cent higher at 31 cents.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1721.34 an ounce.
Light crude is trading $0.16 lower at US$85.34 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 64.95 US cents.
