The Australian sharemarket closed at a fresh record high on Thursday, lifted by real estate and financial stocks after weaker-than-expected employment data increased expectations of a rate cut from Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) policymakers at their next meeting.
Australia’s jobless rate unexpectedly climbed to a four-year high of 4.5%, compared with market forecasts for 4.3%.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed to a fresh record, adding 77.5 points or 0.9% to 9,068.4, with nine of the 11 sectors trading higher.
Rate-sensitive property trusts led the gains, with Goodman Group up 4.9%, Charter Hall adding 0.4%, Mirvac up 3.5%, and Scentre Group advancing 1.2%.
Health care stocks also outperformed, with CSL up 1.8%, ResMed lifting 0.1%, and Sonic Healthcare gaining 2.3%.
Mayne Pharma surged 11.3% after the Supreme Court of New South Wales ruled that U.S. pharmaceutical company Cosette could not terminate its $672 million takeover bid, leaving the final decision to the Foreign Investment Review Board.
Among the financial heavyweights, the big four banks finished mostly higher. Commonwealth Bank climbed 0.8%, Westpac dipped 0.3%, National Australia Bank added 0.3%, and ANZ advanced 1.9%.
Macquarie Group jumped 5.1% after announcing plans to sell its Texas-based Aligned Data Centers for US$40 billion (A$61 billion) to a consortium including BlackRock, Nvidia, and Microsoft.
AMP rallied 8.5% after reporting that total assets under management rose 3.6% quarter-on-quarter to $159.5 billion, further boosting sentiment across the sector.
In the materials space, gold miners extended their rally as spot gold prices climbed above US$4,200 per ounce for the first time, driven by renewed U.S. rate cut bets and safe-haven demand.
Northern Star gained 1.2%, Evolution rose .3%, and Newmont advanced 3.4%.
Major diversified miners were mixed, with BHP up 0.5%, Rio Tinto down 0.3%, and Fortescue slipping 0.2%.
Elsewhere, investors took profits from rare earth producers following sharp gains earlier in the week after China announced plans to tighten export controls.
Australian Rare Earths tanked 21.9%, Iluka fell 10.6%, and Lynas dropped 5.7%.
On the bond markets, yields fell sharply as traders priced in looser monetary policy. The 10-year yield declined 1.7% to 4.163%, while the 2-year yield dropped 3% to 3.356%.
