Australian shares flat as recession fears over Fed's minutes offset US data cheer

April 13 (Reuters) - Australian shares struggled for a direction on Thursday, as investor sentiment oscillated between gauging a cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation reading and potential recessionary risks arising from stress in the banking sector. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.03% to 7,341.70 by 0045 GMT, capping gains after two straight sessions. The benchmark rose 0.5% on Wednesday. Inflation data showed consumer prices in U.S. barely rose in March, raising hopes that the Federal Reserve could pause monetary tightening following a 25-basis-point rate hike next month. However, minutes of the meeting showed several policymakers last month considered pausing interest rate hikes after the failure of two regional banks and projected a "mild recession" starting later this year, with a recovery in 2024-2025. Corporate Travel Management jumped up to 15.9%, hitting its highest level since August after it received a contract from the UK Home Office with an estimated contract total transaction value at about A$3.0 billion ($2.01 billion).

Miners and mining sub-index were flat even as China's robust loan growth in the first quarter bolstered hopes for an economic rebound for the world's biggest steel producer. Sector giants BHP Group , Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group fell between 0.04% and 0.5%. Technology stocks edged 0.3% lower, after gaining more than 1% on Wednesday, mirroring their subdued U.S. peers overnight. ASX-listed shares of sector major Block Inc. plunged more than 6%, while Xero Ltd fell 0.5%. On the other hand, Financials added 0.3%, with all of the "Big Four" banks trading in the positive territory. Energy stocks rose 0.5% and gold stocks gained 0.6% on strength in their respective asset classes. Oil and gas explorer Beach Energy fell up to 2.3% after posting a 5% sequential drop in quarterly oil production. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.2% to 11,890.42.
($1 = 1.4941 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Jaskiran Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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