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RBA says rate pause does not imply hikes over
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Gold stocks lead gains on ASX with 3.8% jump
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RBNZ unexpectedly raises cash rate by 50 bps
(Updates to close)
By Ayushman Ojha
April 5 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed little
changed in range-bound trade on Wednesday, with gains in gold
miners countering losses in base metals and energy firms, while
New Zealand stocks fell after the central bank delivered a
bigger-than-expected rate hike.
The S&P/ASX 200 index finished 0.02%, or 1.2 points,
higher at 7,237.20, its highest close since March 9. The
benchmark inched 0.2% higher on Tuesday.
A day after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left its
cash rate unchanged, Governor Philip Lowe said a pause did not
imply an end to tightening, which could be needed to contain
inflation.
Analysts at National Australia Bank wrote in a note
they expect the cash rate to peak at the current rate of 3.6%
and that "the RBA to remain on hold until the first half of 2024
before the cash rate is cut back to 3.1%".
"The RBA is now very data-dependent, and the key risk to our
view in the near term is that the RBA reads inflation or wage
growth as sufficient to do more before the full impact of rates
fully flows through," they said.
Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG Australia, said he does not
expect the RBA to provide the next catalyst to the stock market
in the short term, predicting the central bank would pause for a
month or two, or even longer.
Gold stocks advanced 3.8%, with index heavyweight
Newcrest Mining up 2.8%, as bullion prices touched
their highest levels since March 2022. Energy stocks fell 0.6%, with heavyweights Santos
Ltd and Woodside Energy down 0.6% and 1%,
respectively.
Heavyweight miners slipped about 0.6%. Iron ore
giants BHP Group , Rio Tinto , and Fortescue
Metals Group tumbled between 1.4% and 1.7%.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50
index fell 0.3% to 11,866.83, after the country's
central bank unexpectedly raised its cash rate by 50 basis
points to a more than 14-year high of 5.25%.
(Reporting by Ayushman Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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