ASX lower as Aussie dollar rises on RBA call
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: The Australian sharemarket lost ground on Tuesday, following a decline on Wall Street overnight and after the RBA kept rates steady at its first board meeting of the year.
The numbers: The benchmark ASX 200 fell 0.58% to 7,581.6, with nine out of the 11 sectors finishing in red.
The IT sector led losses, down 1.8%, followed by materials (-1.13%), utilities and AREITs (both -0.89%). The worst performing stock was West African Resources which was down 9.57%, followed by Cochlear, down 6.51%.
The big miners continued their fall with BHP, Fortescue, James Hardie, and South32 all losing between 1.27% and 2.73%.
The energy sector, meanwhile, gained 0.44%. Woodside was up 0.97%, while Santos increased 0.38% and Ampol lifting 0.44%.
The Aussie dollar was higher, buying 65.12 US cents at 4:21pm AEDT, following the RBA announcement.
The context: The ASX 200’s continued decline after Monday's falls comes after a weak day on Wall Street following US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s remarks that the central bank needed to see more movement towards its 2% inflation target before cutting rates.
The RBA followed suit today, saying while inflation was moderating it was still too high. The central bank also noted that uncertain trajectory of the faltering Chinese economy remained a huge variable for the Australian economy.
Meanwhile, Amcor and BWP Trust will announce half year results tomorrow.
