ASX posts seventh straight gain after flirting with record high
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The news: The Australian sharemarket briefly pierced its record daily close on Tuesday, but ran out of steam in the afternoon. The benchmark ASX 200 made its seventh straight day of gains, lifting 0.29% higher to close at 7,600.20. December retail figures came in weaker than expected, dropping 2.7% after consumers stocked-up on Black Friday deals in November.
The numbers: IT stocks led the way, gaining 1.9% after Megaport shares surged by more than 27% after a solid quarterly update. Real estate stocks and healthcare both gained more than 1%, while industrials stocks underperformed, losing 0.3%.
The Aussie dollar is testing the upper bounds of a week-long trading range and is buying 66.1 US cents.
Oil prices have eased overnight after rallying over the weekend, after bad news from China's property market tempered demand expectations on Monday. Brent crude futures are trading at USD82.07 a barrel and West Texas Intermedia futures are at USD77.07.
The context: The ABS will release keenly-awaited quarterly CPI data tomorrow at 11:30am AEDT, with economists tipping an easing of headline consumer inflation to a two-year low of 4.3%, ahead of the RBA's first 2024 rates decision next week.
Overnight tonight, all eyes will be on quarterly earnings from Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet. Investors are weighing whether the earnings of the Magnificent Seven tech giants justify the lofty valuations of the S&P500, which hit fresh highs overnight. Apple, Amazon and Meta will post their quarterly earnings later this week, along with other large caps including Pfizer, Samsung, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Atlassian.
