Financials, tech stocks nudge Aussie shares near record high
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2% to 8,611.50 points by 0047 GMT, just 27.6 points shy of the record high hit on June 11.
The benchmark has gained more than 1% so far this week and is headed for its best week since mid-May.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is expected to cut rates on Tuesday, a Reuters poll of economists showed. Markets and economists had earlier forecast three RBA rate cuts this year but raised their projections to four in May and now to five, as inflation eased faster than expected and the growth outlook weakened.
While lower borrowing costs typically pressure bank margins, they could support the broader economy by spurring growth and potentially drive up both loan demand and volumes.
Financials rose 0.4%, recovering from a more than 1% drop on Thursday.
National Australia Bank and Westpac rose 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively. Rate-sensitive real estate stocks climbed as much as 1% to a three-week high.
Scentre Group and Goodman Group gained more than 1% each. Technology stocks added 1.4%, taking cues from the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, which notched record closes overnight.
Shares of Xero advanced 0.9%. Bucking the trend, heavyweight miners lost 1.3% after rising more than 3% on Thursday.
BHP Group and Rio Tinto shed 2% and 2.3%, respectively.
Gold stocks eased 0.2% after bullion prices declined 1% overnight.
Oil stocks followed suit, dropping 0.2%.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index added 0.5% to 12,770.55 points.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
3 hours ago
- Business Recorder
UK shares mixed as investors assess fiscal worries
LONDON: London's main stock indexes closed mixed on Friday, with investors assessing domestic fiscal worries and the rate cut path, while weak global investor sentiment persisted ahead of a US tariff deadline. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was unchanged on the day but notched up a second weekly gain, while the domestically-focussed FTSE 250 lost 0.7% on Friday and ended the week lower. The midcap index had logging its largest quarterly gain in more than four years by the close of trade on Monday, but then came under pressure as U-turns on welfare reforms blew a hole in Finance Minister Rachel Reeves' budget plans. The reform bill passed on Tuesday, but with limited cost-reduction measures from the initially expected 5 billion pounds ($6.83 billion) in savings, leading to concerns of raised taxes or spending cuts elsewhere. S&P Global said the inability to make modest cuts to welfare spending showed the government's 'limited budgetary room for manoeuvre'. Homebuilder stocks led sectoral losses on Friday, dropping 2.1% after MJ Gleeson warned of profit being at the lower end of market expectations for fiscal 2026 due to subdued demand. The group slumped 6.7% and was the top decliner on the smallcap index. Larger peers Vistry, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey fell 2.8%, 1.3% and 1.6%, respectively. Industrial metal stocks fell, tracking lower metal prices. Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore slipped more than 1% each. Atalya lost 3%. The Bank of England's Alan Taylor said on Friday that cutting interest rates now would be better than waiting and risking cutting them later in a hurry. Traders are currently pricing in an 80% chance of a rate cut in August, according to LSEG data.
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
PDWP approves nine uplift schemes worth over Rs52bn
LAHORE: The Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) on Friday approved nine major development schemes in the sectors of agriculture, local government, and infrastructure, with a total estimated cost exceeding Rs52.357 billion. The approvals were granted during the second PDWP meeting for the fiscal year 2025–26, chaired by Dr. Naeem Rauf, Chairman of the Planning & Development Board. Key agricultural initiatives include the revised Chief Minister's Programme for the solarisation of agricultural tube-wells (Rs7.229 billion), an internship scheme for agriculture graduates (Rs2.155 billion), and the Chief Minister Punjab Kissan Card scheme (Rs9.868 billion). Additionally, the PDWP gave a green light to Phase-II of the Punjab Green Tractor Programme (Rs5.076 billion), the Punjab Hi-Power Tractor Programme (Rs9.580 billion), and a project for agricultural transformation in the Potohar region (Rs7 billion). In the local government sector, the establishment of a Project Implementation and Management Unit (PIMU) under the Punjab Rural Municipal Services Company (PRMSC), along with Service Delivery Units (SDUs), was approved at an estimated cost of Rs4.030 billion. Two major infrastructure projects were also sanctioned: the construction of underpasses at GPO Chowk and TM Chowk on Mall Road, including a pedestrian underpass near AFIC in Rawalpindi (Rs5.551 billion), and the widening of the road from District Complex to Kakuwal Bridge with a flyover in Mandi Bahauddin (Rs1.864 billion). The meeting was attended by Secretary P&D Board Rafaqat Ali, Secretary Agriculture Iftikhar Ali Sahoo, Chief Economist Masood Anwar, members of the P&D Board, and other senior officials. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
14 hours ago
- Business Recorder
TSX edge higher; US tariff deadline approaches
Canada's main stock index edged higher on Friday, buoyed by gains in real estate stocks, while concerns over U.S. trade deals ahead of the looming July 9 tariff deadline weighed on sentiment. The S&P/TSX composite index hit a fresh record high and was last up 0.1% at 27055.24 points. The index was on track to log a weekly gain. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump are aiming to reach some form of trade deal by July 21. 'The threat of further global tariffs remains… but the most severely negative global trade scenarios still look less likely than they did a few months ago,' economists at RBC Economics said in a note. Data on Friday showed Greater Toronto Area home sales rose for a third straight month in June and prices extended their recent decline. TSX hits record high as investors assess economic data, trade talks On the TSX, real estate stocks led sectoral gains, rising 1.4%. Allied Properties up 2%, Dream Industrial REIT advanced 1.6%, among the top gainers on the benchmark index. Mining shares edged 0.1% higher, energy shares were flat. Copper prices retreated on Friday. Copper miners Capstone Copper down 1.3% and Ero Copper down 1.1%, were among the bottom performers on the main index. S&P's Canada services PMI data on Friday showed that Canada's services economy contracted at a higher rate in June with U.S. trade policy uncertainty leading to decreased activity and increased cost pressures, Meanwhile, Trump's tax-cut legislation cleared its final hurdle in the U.S. Congress on Thursday, with plans to sign it into law later in the day.
