The Australian sharemarket rallied on Friday, tracking all three main Wall Street benchmarks resetting record highs after August US inflation data bolstered expectations for rate cuts.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.8 per cent, or by 74.3 points, to 8879.3 at noon, with 10 of the 11 sectors in the green. That’s after the Dow reached as high as 46,137.20 before the closing bell, with 24 of its 30 components climbing.
The financials sector was among the best performers on the ASX, with all the major banks recording gains. Commonwealth Bank added 1.3 per cent, Westpac rose 1.5 per cent, ANZ firmed 1.3 per cent, and National Australia Bank increased 1.4 per cent.
The materials sector was also in the green, rallying over 1 per cent. Gold stocks were a standout, with Regis Resources up 4.8 per cent, and Bellevue Gold and Capricorn Metals each adding more than 2 per cent. That’s after the precious metal extended gains in early trading, hitting as high as $US3639 an ounce. BHP added 1.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, energy was the only sector that was in the red, following a lower crude oil price. Woodside Energy lost 2.5 per cent and Karoon dropped 3 per cent.
Overnight on Wall Street, following cooler-than-expected producer price and on-par August consumer price data, analysts said a quarter of one percentage point rate cut is all but given at next week’s US Federal Reserve policy meeting.
“Benign [price] news supports a Fed outlook for three successive cuts in September, October and December to recalibrate rates in a timely manner back down to roughly spot neutral by the end of the year,” Evercore ISI said.
Stocks in focus
ASX-listed BSP Financial, also known as Bank South Pacific, rallied 10 per cent after it announced that the Papua New Guinea prime minister had assured the bank that it would continue to service and maintain government accounts.
Ventia Services rose 3.4 per cent after its contract to maintain City of Sydney facilities was extended for $100 million over two years.