The Australian sharemarket finished in negative territory on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of Australia left the cash rate unchanged at 3.6%, a move broadly anticipated by economists.
Governor Michele Bullock added at the post-meeting press conference that the board had not considered the case for another rate cut, reinforcing expectations that policy will remain restrictive well into 2026.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 38.5 points or 0.5% to 8,585.9, with all 11 sectors closing lower.
Information technology names bore the heaviest losses as markets factored in a higher-for-longer rates environment next year.
TechnologyOne lost 1.6%, Xero dipped 0.7%, and NextDC declined 2.6%.
Energy stocks were also weaker after crude oil prices slid 2% overnight. Santos fell 1.4%, Woodside Energy dipped 1.2%, and Beach Energy lost 1.3%.
The major banks finished the session in a mixed fashion, with Commonwealth Bank and Westpac both slipping 0.6%, while National Australia Bank climbed 1% and ANZ added 0.3%.
Among individual movers, Bapcor tumbled 21.3% after lowering its first-half earnings guidance and cautioning that trading conditions in October and November had been softer than expected.
In the bond market, the 10-year yield rose 0.6% to a fresh multi-year high of 4.765%, while the 2-year yield jumped 1.9% to 4.075%, marking its highest level this year.
