Australian shares post first weekly fall in three as rate-hike bets back in focus

Cochlear

09/02/2024 06:55

(Repeats with no changes to text)

        * 
      Australian cenbank warns hike still an option 
    

        * 
      Healthcare stocks hit eight-month high
    

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      Market focus on December-period earnings from majors firms
    

  
    By Sneha  Kumar
       Feb 9 (Reuters) - Australian shares edged higher on
Friday, but posted their first weekly decline in three, while
markets revised expectations of a rate change after top central
banker reiterated that the Reserve Bank of Australia has not
ruled out another hike.     
    The S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  closed 0.1% higher at 7,642.8
points, but lost 0.7% for the week. 
    RBA Governor Michele Bullock warned there was still some way
to go to meet the mid-point of the inflation target range of 2%
of 3%, despite encouraging signs of moderation, and also warned
that rates might have to rise again.
    UBS analysts now expect the RBA's first cut in November from
their earlier expectations of a cut in August, noting that the
central bank has been more hawkish than expected.
    Healthcare stocks  .AXHJ  gained most on Friday, rising 1%
to an eight-month high. 
    Shares of biotech giant CSL  CSL.AX  climbed 0.6%, while
hearing implants maker Cochlear  COH.AX  rose 5.9% to touch an
all-time high.
    Financial stocks  .AXFJ  ended marginally higher, with
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)  CBA.AX  adding 0.3%.
National Australia Bank  NAB.AX  lost 0.3%.
    Boral  BLD.AX  touched a record high after the construction
material maker forecast upbeat annual earnings. 
    Miners  .AXMM  lost 3.3% this week, with heavyweights BHP
Group  BHP.AX  and Fortescue  FMG.AX  down 0.3% and 0.8%,
respectively.
    Energy stocks  .AXEJ  fell 1.3% and gold stocks  .AXGD 
retreated 0.7%.
    Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG Australia, expects the
Australian stock markets to fare better in the near term with
the Chinese stock market closed for Lunar New Year holidays.
    Considering the recent headwinds from China, the market
close gives local investors the opportunity to focus on
corporate earnings and employment data due next week, Sycamore
said. 
    CBA, Wesfarmers  WES.AX , Origin Energy  ORG.AX  and South32
 S32.AX  are among the bunch of companies scheduled to report
results next week.
    New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50  closed
lower on Friday and lost 0.6% this week.

 (Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
 ((sneha.kumar@thomsonreuters.com))
 
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