The Australian sharemarket was higher today, adding 64.00 points or 0.77% to 8,349.10 and crossing above its 50-day moving average.
The winners in the late afternoon were Bellevue Gold Ltd and Regis Resources Ltd (ASX:RRL), up 7.58% and 5.02% respectively.
Over the last five days, the index has gained 2.33% and is currently 1.94% off its 52-week high.
Materials led the sectors by a fair margin, up 1.61%, with Financials bringing up the rear, up 1.27%, and Consumer Discretionary up 0.73%.
Information Technology was a drag on the index, losing 0.82%, with most other sectors breaking even.
Inflation data in
CPI news was positive for those watching rates. Underlying inflation dropped 3.2% year on year after rising to 3.5% in October – this puts it back at the two-and-a-half-year low recorded in September.
State Street (NYSE:STT) Global Advisors APAC economist Krishna Bhimavarapu said: "The annual trimmed mean (3.2%) continued moving towards the RBA’s target band, and on a more encouraging side, inflation in the new dwellings category was the weakest since mid-2021. Yes, we can now confidently say that disinflation is running apace in Australia.”
“While the November inflation print was broadly good news for those hanging out for interest rate cuts, an uptick in job vacancies will give the RBA Board reason to take a cautious approach,” said Moody’s Analytics Head of China and Australia Economics Harry Murphy Cruise.
“Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics alongside the inflation print showed job vacancies rose for the first time since May 2022.
“The rise suggests the labour market is tightening, with firms finding it harder to hire talent. The bulletproof labour market is already a key concern for the RBA, with the Board noting that a rise in unemployment will be needed before it is confident enough to cut rates.”
This led the analyst to predict that a rate cut in February might be on the cards if the labour market slowed somewhat, but that it was more likely that the RBA would wait until May when inflation is sitting at about 3%.
Orthocell higher
Orthocell Ltd (ASX:OCC, OTC:ORHHF) increased by 16.34% to a daily high of $1.46 on revealing the third consecutive quarter of record revenue, St George Mining Ltd (ASX:SGQ) was up to 12.5% higher to $0.0225 and Anteris Technologies Global Corp was 87 cents higher, or 10.09%, reaching $9.50.
Other increases in the small cap sector were registered by Leeuwin Metals Ltd (ASX:LM1), which was up by 9.09% to $0.12, Pantoro Ltd (ASX:PNR, OTC:PNTOF) reached $0.105, a lift of 8.25%, Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM, OTC:ESGFF) was 6.35% higher to $0.67, FireFly Metals Ltd (ASX:FFM) increased by 5.85% to $0.942, Buru Energy Ltd (ASX:BRU, OTC:BRNGF) hit a daily high of $0.04, a rise of 5.26% on the previous close and Highfield Resources Ltd (ASX:HFR) was up 4.17% to $0.25.
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