Australian shares rose on Friday, set to log weekly gains with sentiments improving after minutes from the central bank December meeting showed that it is well on its way to cut interest rates.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.6% to 8,271.1 points by 2345 GMT.
The benchmark is on track to log a gain of 2.6% for the week, its first in four.
The outlook for rate cuts in 2025 was lifted by the reaffirmation of a dovish tone from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
The minutes from the RBA’s meeting indicated that board members perceived inflationary risks to have lessened, while downside risks to the economy had strenghtened.
The minutes have “adopted an explicit easing bias for the first time this cycle,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote, adding that it continues to expect the RBA to commence a gradual easing cycle in February, conditional on a soft outcome in the trimmed-mean consumer price index in the fourth quarter.
Miners, heavily dependent on trade with China, rose 1.1% after a Chinese news agency reported that efforts to revive the country’s staggering property market will continue in 2025.
Iron ore prices, however, ended the day lower with headwinds from weakening steel consumption in the world’s second-largest economy. Mining giants BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue rose between 0.7% and 0.9% owing to the positive outlook.
Australian shares fall as miners offset real estate and healthcare gains
Financial stocks climbed 0.5% to a one-week high, with two of the “Big Four” banks trading in the green. Gold stocks advanced 1.6% on higher demand for the safe haven asset in light trading as markets awaited the incoming Trump administration and the Federal Reserve’s rate cut cycle next year to gauge the US economy’s health.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index reversed early losses to rise 0.4%, touching a one-month high level.
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