ASX closes 0.73% higher
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: The Australian sharemarket has held some of Wall Street's momentum from a late-stage rally last week to finish higher on Monday. The benchmark ASX 200 finished the day 0.73% higher at 7,124.70 after trading as high as 7,165 earlier in the day.
The numbers: The Australian dollar is trading at roughly 66.6 US cents, after dovish rhetoric from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell increased expectations of US interest rate cuts, feeding risk-on sentiment. Nine of Australia's 11 sectors finished in the green, with the exception of utilities (-2.5%) and energy stocks (-1.3%), which tracked with a slump in crude oil prices. Uncertainty about OPEC+ supply cuts pushed Brent crude futures down 0.6% to USD78.23 a barrel.
The context: The Reserve Bank will make its interest rate decision tomorrow, with analysts tipping governor Michele Bullock to hold the cash rate at 4.35%. Australia's quarterly GDP figure will follow on Wednesday. Overnight, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will discuss monetary policy at an event in Paris. The Bank of Queensland will hold its annual general meeting tomorrow morning.
