ASX finishes 0.22% lower as Fed pivot party fades

The news: The Australian sharemarket finished lower on Monday, after investor euphoria over a US Federal Reserve rates pivot was tempered by cautious comments from a Fed official. The benchmark ASX 200 ranged for most of the day to finish 0.22% lower at 7,426.40, with the broader All Ordinaries losing 0.16%.

The numbers: The Australian dollar is holding ground and trading for 67.1 US cents. Oil has traded in a tight range with little movement since Friday. Brent crude futures are fetching around USD77.05 a barrel while West Texas crude is sitting just above USD72. Link Group's share price surged more than 27% after Japanese financial services giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group agreed to buy the superannuation and administration services provider. Sectors were mixed, with only real estate stocks moving more than a percentage point, down 1.2%. Utilities lost 0.9% and health care and consumer discretionary stocks performed best, each gaining 0.2%.

The context: Tomorrow, the Reserve Bank will release minutes from its December meeting, and Allkem shareholders will vote on a potential merge with US lithium giant Livent. The Bank of Japan will determine its policy rate for the last time in 2023, and investors are hoping to get an idea of when it will reverse its negative rates policy. Later in the week, China will set its 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates, and US GDP and unemployment figures will come out on Friday.