The Australian sharemarket finished in positive territory on Wednesday, though the session’s early strength moderated after a hotter-than-expected inflation report prompted traders to scale back expectations of further monetary easing by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
The S&P/ASX 200 closed 69.5 points or 0.8% higher at 8,606.5, having earlier risen as much as 1.2%.
Sentiment cooled after the Australian Bureau of Statistics released its first full monthly consumer price index update, showing annual inflation accelerating to 3.8% in October, well above the 3.6% forecast.
The data rattled markets already adjusting to the RBA’s three rate cuts this year, which have taken the cash rate to 3.6%.
Materials led the day’s gains, with BHP up 2%, Rio Tinto adding 1.4% and Fortescue Metals advancing 2.4%.
Lithium producers also rallied, with Pilbara Minerals soaring 7.2% and Mineral Resources climbing 3% amid reports that the United Kingdom plans to stockpile critical minerals to reduce dependence on China.
Gold miners traded higher as bullion prices held firm overnight, with Northern Star, Newmont and Evolution adding 1.8%, 1.1%, and 1%, respectively.
The healthcare sector also performed strongly as CSL added 0.4%, ResMed gained 2.1% and Ramsay Health Care lifted 3.8%.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare surged after upgrading its full-year guidance, attributing the improvement to favourable currency movements.
Retailers were mostly higher amid Black Friday sales momentum. Wesfarmers rose 1.9%, JB Hi-Fi added 1%, and Harvey Norman closed 1.4% lower despite reporting a 9.1% increase in aggregated sales revenue between 1 July and 20 November.
Temple & Webster also slumped 32.3%, its sharpest fall in about a decade, as half-year revenue growth came in below expectations. The company’s 18% sales growth also missed earlier guidance.
Electro Optic Systems gained 3.6% even after the Federal Court imposed a $4 million penalty over the firm’s admission that it breached continuous-disclosure obligations.
DroneShield extended its rally, jumping 8.5% following news of a $5.2 million European military contract and reassurances from chief executive Oleg Vornik after he sold $50 million worth of shares this month.
On the bond markets, yields moved higher, with the 10-year rising 2.4% to 4.538% and the 2-year up 3.5% to 3.813%.
