The Australian sharemarket closed flat on Wednesday as investors weighed the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to hold rates steady yesterday, and looked ahead to a widely expected interest rate cut from the United States Federal Reserve.
The S&P/ASX 200 slipped 6.5 points or 0.1% to finish at 8,579.4, with nine of the 11 major sectors ending in the red.
Technology stocks were the day’s biggest drag, with TechnologyOne down 1.3%, WiseTech Global falling 1.9% and Xero declining 2.1%.
Materials stocks helped cushion the broader market’s losses, supported by strong gains among gold and silver producers. Northern Star climbed 5.1%, Evolution Mining lifted 4.5%, and Newmont rose 3.9%.
Ramelius Resources also surged 5.9% after announcing a share buyback program of up to $250 million and lifting its minimum dividend to 2 cents per share per year.
Silver miners also rallied, with Silver Mines up 7.9%, and Sun Silver advancing 5.8% as silver prices broke above US$60 an ounce for the first time.
In corporate news, 4DMedical jumped 6% after confirming the University of Miami has begun clinical use of its CT:VQ respiratory imaging technology, becoming the second major U.S. academic medical centre after Stanford to adopt the system.
Symal Group gained 5.9% after striking a conditional A$28 million deal to acquire Queensland civil contractors Timms Group and L&D Contracting.
DroneShield posted the biggest gains on the index, up 16.2% as retail investors continued to buy into the defence stock following last month’s sharp pullback.
On the bond markets, 10-year rates extended multi-year highs, up 0.4% to 4.816%, while the 2-year yield was up 0.4% to 4.129%.
