Peter Milios

The Australian sharemarket experienced a decline from record highs, primarily due to investor concerns regarding the Reserve Bank's potential delay in interest rate cuts, expected to remain steady at 4.35 per cent for the seventh consecutive meeting. At 11:40am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.68 per cent lower at 8,153.90. Consumer stocks suffer the most following regulatory action against major supermarkets Woolworths and Coles. Key companies like BHP and Rio Tinto also reported declines, while Webjet saw a significant drop. Notably, REA Group’s shares slipped after raising its bid for UK’s Rightmove, whereas Austal’s stock rose following a substantial US Navy contract. Other notable movements included Telix Pharmaceuticals’ decline after a major acquisition announcement, and Fletcher Building entering a trading halt for a capital raising initiative.

Australian shares opened modestly higher but is trading lower near noon, tracking a positive finish in New York as investors assessed comments from several US policymakers regarding the interest rate outlook. At 11:45am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.14 per cent lower at 8,141.40. Overnight, US markets saw the Dow Jones rise by 0.2 per cent, the S&P 500 by 0.3 per cent, and the Nasdaq by 0.1 per cent, with the S&P 500 resetting its closing record high for the third consecutive session.

Inflation in Australia decreased to 2.7% in August, down from 3.5% the previous month, marking the first instance since mid-2021 that consumer price data has fallen within the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) target band of 2% to 3%. This decline is largely attributed to federal government energy bill rebates, resulting in a record annual drop of 17.9% in electricity prices, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Despite this positive trend, the RBA maintained the cash rate at 4.35%, indicating a need for more evidence of sustainable inflation reduction. While central banks globally, including the US Federal Reserve, have initiated easing cycles, the RBA has ruled out any rate cuts for the remainder of the year, although bond traders are still anticipating a potential decrease by Christmas.

25 Sep 2024 - The ongoing great power competition between the United States and China has increasingly focused on technological supremacy. This extends beyond cutting-edge technologies like advanced AI, high-end chip manufacturing, and quantum computing, to include the critical supply chains that support them—especially minerals crucial for modern industries.

The number of companies going public in Australia has hit its lowest point since the global financial crisis 15 years ago, with a Mexican fast-food chain standing out as the largest listing in a market once dominated by new mining and energy stocks.

Chinese markets have reacted positively, albeit briefly, to Beijing’s "unprecedented" measures aimed at stabilizing capital markets and boosting investor sentiment. However, the bigger question remains whether these initiatives will be enough to reignite the faltering real economy.

At 11:45am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.56 per cent higher at 8,172 driven by a broad rally across all the sectors, led by consumer discretionary stocks.

4DMedical (ASX:4DX) has announced the signing of a comprehensive distribution agreement with Philips, establishing a transformative commercialisation pathway in the U.S. Philips will have exclusive distribution rights to the 4DMedical suite of products with U.S. government customers and non-exclusive rights with all other U.S. customers. Shares are trading 30.34 per cent higher at 58 cents.

Australian shares saw a modest increase on Friday, driven primarily by gains in the mining sector due to rising commodity prices, bringing the S&P/ASX 200 closer to a record high. At 11:30am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.23 per cent higher at 8,222. This uptick followed a 1 percent rally on Thursday after three consecutive sessions of losses. BHP and Rio Tinto each rose as iron ore prices exceeded $US100 a tonne in Singapore, spurred by stimulus measures in China. In contrast, Star Entertainment's shares fell 50 percent to 21 cents on its first day of trading since late August, while the major banks, including Westpac, saw declines.

Rob Hattersley, Group Head of Capital at MaxCap Group, provides an overview of the company, discussing the funding gap in the Australian credit market, managing risk, the tailwinds for commercial real estate debt, and opportunities within the residential and logistics property markets.