Aussie shares push further into record territory | Australian Markets

The native share market has pushed additional into file territory amid potential peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, whilst rising US inflation forged doubt on the prospect of more price cuts this yr.

Shortly after midday AEDT on Thursday the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 24.2 factors, or 0.28 per cent, to eight,559.5.

At 11.49am the ASX200 reached as high as 8,575.2 – breaking its earlier intraday file of 8,566.9, set on January 31.

The ASX200 additionally set an all-time closing high on Wednesday.

US authorities statistics launched in a single day confirmed that month-to-month headline inflation rose 0.5 per cent in January, a lot increased than anticipated and the largest bounce since August 2023. This introduced the annual price of inflation to three.0 per cent, from 2.9 per cent beforehand.

“The January CPI print was much hotter than expected and will likely make for a very uncomfortable reading for the Federal Reserve,” mentioned Seema Shah, chief world strategist at Principal Asset Administration.

The longer term market’s implied odds that the Fed would have left charges on maintain by the tip of July rose to 56.7 per cent after the readout, from 40.9 per cent a day earlier than, based on CME FedWatch.

In the meantime US President Donald Trump and Russia President Vladimir Putin held a 90-minute cellphone call the place they agreed that negotiations to finish the warfare in Ukraine ought to start instantly.

“As we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine,” Mr Trump posted on social media.

“We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s nations.”

5 of the ASX’s 11 sectors have been increased at noon and 6 have been decrease.

Utilities was the largest mover, dropping 1.7 per cent as AGL fell 5.8 per cent, a day after releasing its half-year earnings.

Within the financial sector, IAG had plunged 10.4 per cent to a three-month low of $7.995 after the insurance coverage giant posted better-than-expected earnings however a lower-than-expected dividend.

Suncorp was down 5 per cent and QBE had fallen 1.4 per cent.

Shares within the ASX itself have been up 7.1 per cent to $67.71 after the market operator posted an underlying half-year revenue of $253.7 million, up 10.1 per cent from a yr in the past.

Within the shopper discretionary sector, Temple & Webster had soared 14.3 per cent to an all-time high of $16.32 after the furnishings e-retailer reported that its first-half revenue had more than doubled to $9 million, as gross sales rose 23.6 per cent to $313.7 million.

“Temple & Webster has again delivered a record half, with strong performance against all key metrics, against a challenging macro and consumer backdrop,” mentioned CEO Mark Coulter.

Area Holdings had climbed 11 per cent to $3.03 after the property web site delivered $33.1 million in half-year revenue, up 28.3 per cent from a yr in the past.

Within the heavyweight mining sector, BHP was up 2.4 per cent, Fortescue had climbed 2.1 per cent and Rio Tinto had superior 1.7 per cent.

Three of the 4 massive retail banks have been increased, with ANZ up 1.2 per cent, Westpac climbing 1.5 per cent and NAB including 0.7 per cent. CBA was the outlier, principally flat at $166.05 – close to its all-time high.

The Australian greenback in the meantime was shopping for 62.82 US cents, from 62.93 US cents at 5pm on Wednesday.