Australian shares turn positive as big banks rally; iron ore miners sink
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More news: Australian shares swung into positive territory in afternoon trading as big banks rallied, offsetting broader losses across the market.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 5.6 points, or 0.07%, to 8,536.8 at 2:20pm AEST. Seven of the 11 sectoral indices were in the red.
Westpac (2%), Commonwealth Bank (1.5%), NAB (1.5%) and ANZ (0.7%) all advanced, helping the financials sector (1.1%) emerge as the day's best performing.
Miners (-1.8%) retreated, with iron ore giants Rio Tinto (-2.1%), BHP (-2%) and Fortescue (-1.7%) extending losses from Wednesday amid low demand from Chinese steel mills and the country's construction industry.
Elsewhere, utilities stocks fell 1.4%, dragged down by a 1.9% drop by Origin Energy. Tech stocks lowered 1.1% as WiseTech Global shed 2% after announcing a slate of changes to its board.
Australian shares open lower as gold miners and tech stocks slide
More news: Australian shares edged lower at the open as gold producers and technology stocks led losses.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 11.4 points, or 0.13%, to 8,519.8 at 10:30am AEST. Eight of the 11 sectoral indices were in the red.
Gold miners Perseus Mining (-3.5%), Bellevue Gold (-3.5%) and Evolution Mining (-2.9%) were the three worst performing ASX 200 stocks. Gold prices dipped overnight after the US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and signalled a slower pace of easing in 2026 and 2027.
Technology stocks lost around 1% as the sector's largest company WiseTech Global fell 1.4% after announcing a slate of changes to its board.
Meanwhile, HMC Capital-owned HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (2.5%) was the best performer after reporting an increase to its portfolio value and reaffirming its full-year guidance.
Australian shares to fall; US stocks end flat after Fed rates call
The news: Australian shares are poised to fall at the open after a choppy session on Wall Street, where stocks ended roughly flat after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: down 24 points to 8,525
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.1%, S&P 500 down 0.03%, and Nasdaq up 0.13%
- Europe: CAC 40 down 0.36%, DAX down 0.5%, and FTSE 100 up 0.11%
- Spot gold: down 0.55% to USD3,369 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 0.34% to USD76.19/bbl, and US WTI flat at USD74.87/bbl
- AUD: up 0.40% to 65.01 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 0.31% to USD104,510.
The context: US stocks ended flat after the Fed left interest rates unchanged as expected. The central bank also reaffirmed expectations for two cuts later this year, but signalled a slower pace of easing in 2026 and 2027.
Fed chair Jerome Powell said inflation in goods prices is expected to go up over the course of the summer as the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs trickles through to US consumers.
Traders also continued to monitor events in the Middle East, as Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Trump's demand for unconditional surrender.
The US President refused to say whether he will order US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, saying: “I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.” Khamenei warned any US military intervention would result in “irreparable damage.”
