By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 was little changed at 7414.1 on Wednesday, after falling 0.7% in the previous session, its biggest daily decline in four weeks as RBA policymakers flagged the possibility of quicker than expected interest rate hikes amid rising inflation as the economy rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic.
ASX 200 Futures were trading 0.47% lower.
Among stocks, Seek Ltd (ASX:SEK) was 1.52% lower ahead of its AGM today, while Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) lost 6.12% despite reporting a 22% jump cash profits over the September quarter. Other financial stocks fell, with Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) down 0.46%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) down 0.14% and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) falling 1.23%. Major mining companies traded mixed as Iron ore improved overnight, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO)up 0.22%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) down 0.9% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) up 0.06%.
The Australian dollar was trading near 5-week lows of 0.73 following the Reserve Bank meeting minutes and governor Philip Lowe’s speech on Tuesday, while the US Dollar Index touched fresh 16-week highs
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year yields lifted to 1.887% while United States 10-Year rates were at 1.639%.
On the data front, Meanwhile, the Bureau of Statistics is set to release its latest data on Wage Growth today, with analysts expecting an increase of 0.5% over the September quarter compared to the June quarter.