Australia stock market finished session lower on Wednesday, 27 September 2023, amid concerns that the Reserve Bank of Australia would keep longer monetary tightening period as the country's monthly Consumer Price Index indicator accelerated to 5.2% on a year-over-year basis in August.
At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 7.85 points, or 0.11%, to 7,030.35. The broader All Ordinaries index declined 8.53 points, or 0.12%, to 7,229.80.
Total 9 of 11 sectors were lower along with the S&P/ASX 200 Index. A-REIT was the best performing sector, gaining +0.38%. Information technology was the bottom performing sector, falling 0.96%, followed by healthcare (down 0.7%), energy (down 0.42%), and utilities (down 0.4%) sectors.
The top performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were RESMED INC and TABCORP HOLDINGS, up 12.39% and 5.95% respectively. The bottom performing stocks in S&P/ASX200 index were THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP and DE GREY MINING, down 16% and 4.7% respectively.
Shares of Information technology were the weakest sector on the local bourse with WiseTech losing 1.4%.
Gold stocks were lower in line with weaker bullion prices. Sector majors Newcrest Mining and Northern Star Resources dropped 2.1% and 2.4% respectively.
Shares of banks and financials ended the day little changed, with all the 'big four' banks trading in the green. CBA advanced 0.5%, NAB added 0.6%, ANZ gained 0.4% and Westpac climbed 0.7%.
ECONOMIC NEWS: In August 2023, Australia's Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 5.2% on a year-over-year basis, surpassing the 4.9% annual rise observed in July. The notable price increases were in Housing (+6.6%), Transport (+7.4%), Food and non-alcoholic beverages (+4.4%), and Insurance and financial services (+8.8%). When excluding volatile items and holiday travel, the annual CPI indicator still rose but at a slightly lower rate, reaching 5.5% in August compared to 5.8% in July. The annual trimmed mean inflation remained steady at 5.6% for both August and July. These figures reflect significant inflationary pressures in various sectors of the Australian economy.
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