Real estate stocks lead ASX losses as RBA rate call weighs
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The news: Real estate stocks led losses on the ASX after the Reserve Bank's surprise move to hold the cash rate steady on Tuesday weighed on investor sentiment in the sector.
The numbers: The real estate sectoral index was down 1.5% at 1:45pm AEST, as the wider market slipped 0.4%.
Industrial property giant Goodman Group was down 2.1%, with property developers Stockland (-1.7%), Mirvac (-0.9%) and Dexus (-0.8%) also lower.
The context: Economists and the market were widely expecting a rate cut on Tuesday, which could've helped stimulate the property market and developer activity. A higher cost of borrowing also means a higher cost of debt, impacting construction loans, mortgages and credit lines, squeezing project margins and reducing cash flow.
