Lifestyle Communities and Charter Hall rally on Citi upgrades

The news: Shares in Lifestyle Communities and Charter Hall Group both gained in early trading after Citi upgraded its ratings on the two real estate investment trusts to 'buy'.

The numbers: Lifestyle Communities shares were up 5% to $8.47 at 10:40am AEDT, having fallen by around 45% over the last 12 months. Charter Hall shares rose 0.7% to $16.16, extending gains of more than 20% in the last year.

The context: Citi's analysts said the recent selloff in Australian REITs, driven by increased uncertainty in trade policies and expectations for higher inflation, has presented an attractive buying opportunity in the sector.

They noted that longer-term bond yields have largely remained stable, and interest rates are expected to be reduced over the 2025 calendar year, both globally and locally, typically resulting in multi-year positive share price performance for REITs.